2nd
Sep 2022
The somewhat outspoken director of Generation Rent, Baroness Alicia Kennedy, claims that millions of tenants are at risk of not being able to pay their rent this winter because of the incoming energy price hikes.
The activist group says its recent survey found that 45 per cent of PRS tenants who had been in their home for more than a year had at some time been asked to pay a higher rent, 81 per cent of those are now paying more whilst 14 per cent had successfully negotiated a lower rent.
The group also claims that 20 per cent of those renters who had to contend with a rent increase in their current tenancy were asked to pay £100 plus extra per month, but 13 per cent decided to move home.
Renters who were asked to pay a rent increase were more than likely to be most concerned with being able to pay the rent, compared to energy increases – 32 per cent.
More than 40 per cent of renters, irrespective of whether their rent had risen or not stated the fuel price rises were their biggest worry.
People receiving housing benefit are more likely to have faced rent increases over the last twelve months despite the Local Housing Allowance being frozen since March 2020. The charity says 46 per cent of PRS tenants on benefits were ‘asked’ to pay higher rent compared to 43 per cent of tenants not receiving state aid.
Baroness Kennedy, says “With energy bills about to shoot up once again, renters cannot afford to be blindsided by an increase in their rent. The country faces the real prospect of millions of people being unable to find the money to cover rent, heat their homes comfortably and put food on the table. Renters are terrified, knowing they face a winter of destitution.
“Ultimately that will lead to a further rise in evictions and homelessness. The government must intervene and temporarily stop landlords from raising the rent, as well as pausing evictions to keep renters in their homes.”
Generation Rent is calling for the government to stop tenants from asked for more rent whilst in-tenancy by freezing rents on existing tenancies, bring back a suspension of no-fault evictions, and for all other types of evictions to be made discretionary: “to stop people who fall into arrears for reasons beyond their control from being made homeless.”
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