As the House of Lords today resumes its deliberations over the Renters Rights Bill, so an activist body claims 3.8m tenants “always” or “often” struggle to afford groceries and other essentials – apparently due to the amount they spend on rent.
The activists in the Renters Reform Coalition – a collection of organisations including tenant and student unions – also claim that “nearly 1 in 10 have sold or pawned personal items to be able to afford rent.”
The coalition is advocating support for an amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill proposed by Baroness Grender, who was elevated to the House of Lords after being the communications director for the Liberal Democrat party.
This amendment calls for the introduction of a review of rent affordability in England after the Bill has been passed.
The activist group says: “Baroness Grender’s amendment follows calls from renting campaigners for further action to make renting more affordable. The Renters Reform Coalition (RRC), an alliance of leading housing and renters’ groups, have commissioned exclusive new polling from More In Common of 1,076 private renters in England which shows the extent of the affordability crisis in private renting.”
The polling’s results have been extrapolated by the group.
They claim that 32% of renters either ‘always’ or ‘often’ struggle to afford essentials like groceries due to the cost of renting. The RRC states this would be about 3.8m private renters. They also say some 9% of renters report selling or pawning personal items in the last five years to be able to afford rent, with 32% of those who have pawned or sold something to afford their rent doing so on more than five occasions.
Grender says: “We want this Bill to pass, and soon. The Liberal Democrats have strongly supported its key protections for tenants, because renters urgently need these rights. But this only fixes part of the problem. Renters are often paying unreasonably high prices for homes that fail to meet basic standards. That’s why I’ve put forward an amendment to help make renting more affordable and fair. A caring society starts with a stable home, and we should demand nothing less.”
Meanwhile Tom Darling, director at the RRC, adds: “The cost of rent is out of control – it is just unacceptable that today nearly a third of tenants are struggling just to afford basic necessities like groceries. The Renters’ Rights Bill is long overdue, and has a lot to recommend it, but it has very little to say about this affordability crisis.
“So Baroness Grender’s proposal to review rental affordability after the bill has been passed and look at ways to improve it is an important one. Whatever else happens, this issue isn’t going away – it’s clear there will need to be more government action on affordability, and it’s plain to everyone (whatever their view of the Renters’ Rights Bill) that the current situation isn’t sustainable. We hope to hear more from the government about its plans to tackle the cost of renting.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today