August 21st 2023.
Half of working people who are privately renting their home in England would not be able to keep up their payments for more than a month if they lost their job. A new survey conducted by YouGov for housing charity Shelter has revealed a worrying statistic - 34% of renters would not be able to afford a single month of rent from their savings in this situation.
The average rent in London is expected to reach £2,700 by next year, which is £133 more than the current figure. Even outside of the capital, the average price for newly let properties passed £1,000 a month for the first time in May according to property agent Hamptons.
The Shelter survey also found that 55% of private renters in England had their rent increased in the past year and 37% are already struggling or behind with their payments due to the rise. This is a tough reality for people like Priscilla, a 50-year-old school business manager who works full time. She was issued with a Section 21 'no fault' eviction notice, something the government plans to abolish. Priscilla has applied for more than 20 properties and is now making financial sacrifices in order to make ends meet.
Shelter's research shows that more than three quarters of social renters in England said they would not be able to afford to live in their local area without their social housing. Shelter's chief executive, Polly Neate, has called for thousands more social homes to be built around the country, providing a 'genuinely affordable alternative to private renting'.
The government has responded by saying it has a strong track record of delivering affordable homes to rent and buy across the country. Through its Affordable Homes Programme, it has delivered over 659,500 new affordable homes, including 166,300 homes for social rent. It also plans to introduce a Renters Bill to give tenants greater security in their homes and prevent large rent increases being used as a backdoor method of eviction.
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