Chris Dodson says he is living in ‘endless fear’ that his rent will be increased again after more than £2,000 in hikes in the past three years – as peers call for more action
Chris Dodson says he is living in “endless fear” that his rent will be increased again after more than £2,000 in hikes in the past three years.
The 68-year-old, who lives alone in South East of England, receives around £1,600 per month from state and work pensions but £995 of it is “swallowed up” in rent. “My rent has increased relentlessly over the past three years by over £2000,” he told The Mirror.
“The effect is dramatic, half my income is swallowed up. The rest just isn’t enough to cover everything else and most months I end up broke.”
Chris previously lost his home due to mortgage struggles in 2008 and now rents the property after a fund bought it during the crash. He has faced issues such as high energy bills and repairs that have not been done, including a broken gate that makes him feel unprotected.
READ MORE: Worrying gap in landmark renters’ rights laws as Labour MP makes powerful plea
He said: “There is no way out, I am trapped. I can’t save as there is nothing left to put by. Even if I was offered another property, I have no money to move or pay for those extras you need when moving.
“Unexpected expenses are a major worry. I can’t plan for the future just scraping by each month.And over the horizon the endless fear of yet another rent rise. It is pitiless. I think of the 46 years I worked, paying all my dues and wonder what it was for.”
The Government is under pressure to amend its renters’ rights laws to stop tenants being forced out by huge rent hikes. Peers across political parties have joined forces to demand rent increases be limited to the lowest of either inflation or wage growth, or alternatively the Bank of England Base Rate.
Private renting increased by 8.1% in the 12 months to February, more than triple the current level of general inflation. The government’s Renters’ Rights Bill, which is now passing through the House of Lords, will be scrutinised at committee stage from Tuesday.
Ahead of this, peers have supported amendments to introduce limits on how much landlords can hike rents on their tenants. Baroness Janke, a Liberal Democrat Peer, has tabled an amendment which would limit rent rises to the Bank of England Base Rate, with support from Baroness Jones of the Greens.
Lord Best, a crossbench peer and former chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has tabled an amendment to limit rent rises to Consumer Price Inflation or wage growth, whatever is lower. This amendment would allow landlords to reset the rent to the market rate every four years and is supported by Tory peer Lord Young of Cookham and Lib Dem peers Baroness Thornhill and Baroness Grender.
A maximum of four Peers can support any one amendment. A similar amendment was tabled, and rejected, when the renters’ rights legislation passed through the Commons.
Generation Rent, who surveyed nearly a 1,000 of its supporters in the Autumn, found that more than three in five (61%) renters said their landlord had asked them to pay a higher rent in the previous 12 months. Almost a quarter (24%) of respondents said they received a rent hike of over £100, compared to just 9% in a similar survey in July 2022.
Meanwhile, respondents reported spending an average of 39% of their income on rent. Labour’s renters’ rights legislation will finally bring an end to section 21 no-fault evictions – a promise first made by the Tories in 2019 which they failed to deliver on.
The notices, which are considered a major driver of homelessness, allow landlords to evict renters either after a fixed term tenancy ends or during a tenancy with no fixed end date. Campaigners have hailed the ban but warn that large rent hikes could effectively still lead to no-fault evictions.
Ben Twomey, Chief Executive at Generation Rent, said: “Everyone needs a safe, secure and affordable home, it’s the foundation of our lives. While price caps rightly exist for our energy and water bills, there is nothing to stop a landlord suddenly hiking the cost of someone’s home. Unchecked rent hikes are forcing people into poverty and homelessness.”
He added: “The ending of Section 21 ’no fault’ evictions is a milestone to be celebrated after a decade of Generation Rent campaigning. But some landlords will inevitably start using unaffordable rent hikes as ‘no fault’ evictions in all but name, dampening the impact of this major reform.”
An MHCLG spokesman said: “Our Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver a long overdue transformation of private renting by strengthening tenants’ rights and banning section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. We do not support rent controls. We are taking action to cap advance payments to one month’s rent, end unfair bidding wars, and give tenants stronger powers to challenge excessive rent hikes.
“Boosting supply is the most effective way of improving affordability for renters, and we will deliver this by building 1.5 million homes as part of our Plan for Change.”
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