Shelter claims renters are struggling to pay rent and afford essentials

Shelter claims renters have just £7 a day to spend on food after paying rent and basic bills, as it calls on the government to ramp up social housebuilding.

Data by Shelter reported in the Daily Mirror reveals more than 300,000 private renting households have less than £50 a week to spend after paying for rent, council tax, water and energy bills.

The news comes as Shelter’s chief executive, Sarah Elliot, has announced she is stepping down after only a year in the role.

Biggest barrier to building social housing

According to Shelter’s findings, the number of households with less than £50 a week left after paying rent and essential bills has increased by nearly a third (31%).

The data also reveals that nearly a quarter (23%) of working private renters have no savings and would be immediately unable to pay their rent if they lost their job.

The charity says the government must build more social homes to tackle rising rents and provide people with a long-term alternative to costly private renting.

Shelter claims the biggest barrier to building more social housing is the £31.8 billion in housing debt transferred to councils in 2012 as part of a council house financing agreement.

Research carried out by Savills for Shelter shows that removing this “unfair debt burden” in the Budget could unlock 284,000 social rent homes, with every £1 billion of debt removed enabling 8,900 new homes to be built.

Housing system is on its knees

Mairi MacRae, acting chief executive at Shelter, said: “It is clear our housing system is on its knees when hundreds of thousands of private renters have £7 a day or less to feed and clothe themselves, after paying their rent and basic bills.

“Decades of poor political choices have driven down the supply of genuinely affordable social homes and pushed millions into expensive private renting. As their housing costs soar, more families are locked in survival mode, scraping around for every penny to pay for life’s essentials. Those who constantly find themselves in the red face homelessness and destitution.

“If the government wants families to thrive, instead of barely survive, it must accelerate social housebuilding and provide an alternative to private renting. The Prime Minister should use his first Budget to remove the historic housing debt burden that’s holding councils back from building social homes.”

The news comes as Sarah Elliot became Shelter’s chief executive in September last year, succeeding Polly Neate, who stepped down after seven years at the helm of the housing advice charity.

The search for a new permanent CEO is currently underway.