Nearly a third of private renters – an estimated 3.8 million people – struggle to afford essentials like groceries – read dad Trevor Twohig’s renting story below
Nearly a third of private renters – an estimated 3.8 million people – “always” or “often” struggle to afford essentials like groceries due to the amount they spend on rent, grim polling shows.
Almost one in 10 have sold or pawned personal items to be able to afford rent, according to the survey by the Renters’ Reform Coalition (RRC). More than half – 53% – of renters said they “always” or “often” don’t have any money left for savings due to the amount they spent on rent.
Average rents have risen by 31% in the last five years, according to recent analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
An amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill, which is passing through the House of Lords, calls for a review of rent affordability in England after the bill has been passed. The change, which received cross party support at committee stage, is likely to be brought to a vote in the bill’s upcoming Report Stage.
READ MORE: Worrying gap in landmark renters’ rights laws as Labour MP makes powerful plea
Baroness Grender, the Lib Dem peer who tabled the amendment, said: “Renters are often paying unreasonably high prices for homes that fail to meet basic standards. That’s why I’ve put forward an amendment to help make renting more affordable and fair. A caring society starts with a stable home, and we should demand nothing less.”
Tom Darling, director at the RRC, said: “The cost of rent is out of control – it is just unacceptable that today nearly a third of tenants are struggling just to afford basic necessities like groceries. The Renters’ Rights Bill is long overdue, and has a lot to recommend it, but it has very little to say about this affordability crisis.”
A Government spokesman said: “These findings are concerning. We want to create a fairer housing market and that’s why our Renters’ Rights Bill will empower tenants to challenge excessive rent hikes and stop landlords from demanding large amounts of rent in advance.
“We are also putting more money in people’s pockets by protecting payslips from higher taxes, freezing fuel duty and increasing the minimum wage to deliver pay rises of up to £1,400 a year for millions of low-income workers.”
Under the bill, landlords will only be able to increase rents once per year to the market rate and tenants will be able to challenge unreasonable rent increases through the first-tier tribunal.
::: More in Common surveyed 1,076 private renters between April 25 and May 5 for RRC.
‘Landlords are acting with greed rather than humanity’
Trevor Twohig, 44, who lives with his wife and three kids, has accused landlords of acting with “greed rather than humanity”.
He said he struggles to save up cash for his family and said it was “ridiculous” renters’ lives are at “the mercy of landlords”.
Trevor, who recently set up a neurodiversity coaching company, said his family were recently evicted from their home in Ashford, Kent, despite having lived there for four years and being “great tenants”.
Their landlord told Trevor and his wife Tnaesha that he was going to sell the house in November and they had to leave within two months. But Trevor said it was a lie and that the landlord actually hiked the rent by £700.
“He ended up renting it to town people from London for £2,200 per calendar month which highlights the emphasis on greed rather than humanity,” he said.
The family now live in a “less desirable” area in a £1,500 per month bungalow in Ashford, where his kids have to share one room. Asked if he struggles to save due to high rent prices, Trevor said: “Yeah, I think so. I think that for everyone at the moment, it’s very, very difficult.
“Unfortunately, it seems that as soon as there are a lack of properties in an area, the price rockets up, and that, to me, is unethical. And that prevents people who want to purchase property in this country from being able to save up the money that they need to.
“I do think, absolutely, saving has become a thing of the past for a lot of people, because, yeah, the cost of living, but in particular, the cost of renting and buying is, quite frankly, a bit absurd at the moment.”
Trevor called for better regulation around how much landlords can charge for rent. “Fundamentally, I think we need renters to be treated with the same respect as homeowners,” he said.
“I just feel at the moment that if you are a renter, you are fundamentally a second-class citizen.”
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