12th
Sep 2023
The Co-Op Bank is one of the campaigning organisations which includes Shelter is stating that one elderly private renter is handed a Section 21 notice every 16 minutes.
Shelter’s commissioned research funded by the bank is claiming that 28 per cent of renters who are 55 plus, around 400,000 people, “live in fear of being evicted by their landlord.”
The Co-Op bank cites one in three of all private tenants reported that when they moved to their current ‘home’ it apparently took them more than the statutory two months’ notice period to find their new residence.
With Parliament back from the summer holidays, the bank and Shelter are telling the government that delays to the Renters Reform Bill are now the cause of many thousands of elderly tenants suffering from health problems.
The research claims to highlight the ‘fact’ that 25 per cent of tenants over 55 years old are concerned about being evicted and the stress of it all is causing them to suffer from both mental and physical deterioration.
Apparently the same percentage have been made physically sick over the last year because of housing problems and concerns.
The two organisations say in ‘perfect harmony’ that 19 per cent of adult private renters throughout England are over 55 which is 31 per cent higher than the past ten years.
Nick Slape, Chief Executive Officer at The Co-operative Bank, says: “Fighting inequality across the UK is extremely important to our customers, and that’s why we’re campaigning for better rights for renters alongside Shelter.
“We know the private rented system in this country needs urgent reform and this new research shows just how desperate the situation has become.
“Together with our partner Shelter we are calling on the government to prioritise the Renters Reform Bill now, to protect tenants across the country and deliver lasting change.”
Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter, adds: “Older renters may already be retired or planning for retirement at this point in their lives. They shouldn’t have knots in their stomachs, constantly afraid that their landlord is going to kick them out of their home for no reason.
“We hear from hundreds of over-55s who have worked for decades in search of safety and security later in life. It’s a disgrace that so many are being stripped of a stable home by the gross injustice of Section 21 no-fault evictions.
“Instead of forcing older renters to pay over the odds for often shoddy rentals that leave them sick with worry, the government must keep its word, and get the Renters Reform Bill over the line. Tenants are tired of waiting for a system that makes private renting safe and fair for all.”
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