A further 1.6m private renters who have stayed put are estimated not to have been registered to vote originally.
With ACORN, we have launched #RentersVote to organise voter registration drives in areas with high numbers of renters where their vote could make the difference on 8 June. We will also scrutinise the parties’ housing policies as their manifestos are published on www.rentersvote.org.uk.
Renters need a government that will reform the housing market to protect them from unfair evictions and rising rents, and we won’t get one unless we vote for it. Before renters can do that, they need to make sure they’re registered, and when you are on the register it is too easy to fall off it when you move.
#RentersVote is calling on the parties to commit to improve renting across six areas:
- Rent control
- Ban on tenancy fees
- More security by ending unfair evictions
- Landlord registration
- A crackdown on disrepair
- More social housing
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived in your home, who owns it, or whether you’re on the council tax – as long as you’re a citizen aged over 18 you have the right to vote, and only you can ensure that you’re able to use it.
The deadline to register is 11.59pm on Monday 22nd May.
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Our workings
The estimated numbers of votes at risk are based on:
- 4.528m households renting from private landlords (English Housing Survey 2015/16)
- An average of 1.6 adults per household (EHS 2015/16)
- 83% of private renters with a UK, Ireland, Commonwealth – or no – passport, and therefore eligible to vote (Census 2011)
- Of these 6.013m potential voters, 29.9% moved in the past year (EHS 2014/15), which is 1.798m. They must all re-register to ensure they have a vote.
- Of the 4.215m who stayed put, 37% were not registered to vote in the first place (Electoral Commission 2015), which is 1.560m.
