Half of tenants are ‘one pay cheque away’ from homelessness – Shelter claims

Half of tenants are ‘one pay cheque away’ from homelessness – Shelter claims

9:26 AM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago 67

Text Size

A survey of private renters has found that 51% of them are just one missed ‘pay cheque’ away from being made homeless.

The findings from Shelter also found that more than a third said they did not have enough savings to cover their rent if they were to face unemployment.

The charity’s study also reveals that 55% of renters have seen a rent increase in the past year with demand from tenants outstripping landlord supply.

Shelter says its recent findings show a deterioration in the private rented sector since a 2021 survey revealed that 39% of tenants did not have enough in savings to pay rent.

‘Forced to compete for grossly expensive private rentals’

Shelter’s chief executive, Polly Neate, said: “The severe lack of social homes means swathes of people are barely scraping by as they’re forced to compete for grossly expensive private rentals, because there is nothing else.

“With food and household bills continuing to surge, the situation is precarious for thousands of renters who are one pay cheque away from losing their home, and the spectre of homelessness.”

She added: “The time for piecemeal policies is over. To jam the brakes on the housing emergency, we need a genuinely affordable alternative to private renting.

“We know social housing works for most people because it’s secure and the rents are tied to local incomes.

“Instead of empty words, the government and every political party must sign up to building thousands more social homes.”

‘Delivering affordable homes to rent and buy’

A government spokesperson said: “We have a strong track record of delivering affordable homes to rent and buy across the country.

“Since 2010, we have delivered over 659,500 new affordable homes through our £11.5bn affordable homes programme, including 166,300 homes for social rent.

“Our landmark Renters (Reform) Bill will also deliver a better deal for renters, giving tenants greater security in their homes and preventing large rent increases being used as a backdoor method of eviction.”


Share This Article


Comments

Churchills Tax Advisers

12:00 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Of course, no mention by Shelter of grossly expensive mortgage repayments, which have increased multiple times, compared to increases in rent.

Harvey Glenn

12:38 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

If private rented sector tenants are one month's rent away from homelessness then so too are social housing tenants, rent differences are not that wide apart. No mention of that though from the high priestess of homelessness

Beaver

12:40 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Churchills Tax Advisers at 22/08/2023 - 12:00When I bought my first house my interest payments were above 14% on my PPR. So more than double the current figure.
As a landlord you can no longer offset interest against your rents unlike other businesses. If the government forces you to invest capital to 'improve' your property that's capital expenditure that you have to finance somehow so you are then hit twice by high interest rates. It's no surprise that landlords are exiting the market.
The public finances have just in July been hit by the highest debt interest payments for many years.
According to the BBC "July's borrowing figure was £3.4bn more than a year ago and the fifth-highest figure for July since monthly records began in 1993. The government paid debt interest of £7.7bn, which the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said was the highest total for July on record."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66577312
The government can't afford to fix the housing problem. The only way it can 'afford' to do it is to allow the deduction of interest from revenue to encourage private capital back in, even if that's only for energy efficient housing, and to allow people to invest their pensions directly in the same type of housing.
Left-wing nutcases won't support this however as they don't believe in private pensions any more than they believe in the PRS. They depend upon crises just as Shelter do.

Trapped Landlord

13:00 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Beaver at 22/08/2023 - 11:09
Bearing in mind what you mention here, government cannot afford to build, developers cannot profit any longer from building, landlords cannot buy anymore (unless with cash). What is gods name can be done to solve this, also, throw into the mix that the population is growing an an exponential rate ?

Beaver

13:10 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Trapped Landlord at 22/08/2023 - 13:00
I don't just have a (small) BTL portfolio. I also have a SIPP that I'm allowed to invest in commercial property but not residential property. I'd happily invest that in residential property even if it's only allowed to be in new-band-A-EPC-that-actually-means-something-and-isn't-b******t-property.

I would also find it easier to improve my (small) BTL portfolio if the government allowed me to offset my energy efficiency improvements against tax rather than forcing me to treat them as capex.

The UK governments caused the current housing crisis (the SNP were the worst offender here) and they can't solve it. But the policies they have adopted are actually stopping other people from solving it. The money is there to solve the problem, you're just not allowed to do it.

Southern Boyuk

13:25 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

If they are!!!! One cheque away from homelessness then thise who xan work and not feigning it, let them get off their backsides and do a 2nd or more job, like we had too. Far too many people need to be shaken to realise life is not a bed of roses, you have to work hard!

NewYorkie

14:09 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Paul Power at 22/08/2023 - 11:46
I had 2 toddlers and my priority was work, and safe and comfortable accommodation. When I could afford it, I moved up the ladder to a better location, and then I bought a house 60 miles away, because I couldn't afford to buy in London even 40 years ago. I was prepared to change jobs and move away from the city I had grown up in, and all my friends and family, to get what I needed. It was nothing special, but at least I wasn't fazed when interest rates hit 15%.

I am so fed up with renters saying how hard done by they are. The average rent is only 30% of income.

The real problem today is lack of housing which those on lower incomes can afford. Affordable housing in government and developer speak, means unaffordable to most. 40 years ago, we still had a decent social housing sector. Then, housing associations took over, and their focus turned to profitability. Very few housing executives saw social housing as their vocation. I was extremely privileged to know one, who continued working even though she had a huge pension doing nothing, and did the jobs her staff should have been doing, if they could get off their lazy backsides.

NewYorkie

14:17 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Churchills Tax Advisers at 22/08/2023 - 12:00
And no mention of her salary!

Churchills Tax Advisers

14:25 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

Reply to the comment left by NewYorkie at 22/08/2023 - 14:17
I think we can safely say she is not one pay cheque away from losing her home!

Reluctant Landlord

15:51 PM, 22nd August 2023, About 9 months ago

a load of stats to show 'evidence' according to what lie she want to peddle....

Leave Comments

In order to post comments you will need to Sign In or Sign Up for a FREE Membership

or

Don't have an account? Sign Up

Landlord Tax Planning Book Now