I hate to say it but, by almost every metric, the private rented sector is failing the people who call it home. Too often, discussions around resolutions to its problems do not centre around that fact. Too often, we are trapped rather than choosing to rent privately. Most of us do not have the opportunity to live elsewhere, with home ownership out of reach if we want it, and social homes unavailable if we need them.
The numbers paint an ugly picture that will be of no surprise to anyone currently enduring life in the rented sector. Rental inflation continues to vastly outpace wage increases, making homes less and less affordable each year. Over one fifth of us live in non-decent homes and there are more privately rented homes containing dangerous category one hazards than any other tenure type. We also suffer the highest rates of fuel poverty, with damp and mould making us sick.
A healthy housing system is one that works for renters; all other vital statistics stem from that. For too many, conversations around housing and the private rented sector in particular have shunned this viewpoint in favour of the lens of financialisation: discussions of assets, yields and value taking priority over safety, security and quality of life for those who have no choice but to rent their home and are paying through the nose to do so.
But it does not have to be this way.
Successive governments have recognised the crux of the problem, which is the glaring imbalance of power between tenants and their landlords. The previous Conservative government and now its Labour successor have introduced bills attempting to bring about changes to how renting works, with varying degrees of success. There are some green shoots that this second attempt will finally deliver some of the vital changes that renters are so desperate for.
The first step in this is the immediate abolition of the Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions that have blighted generations of renters, acting as a Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads and undermining our ability to put down roots in our homes and communities. The prospect of that dreaded letter dropping on to your doormat, telling you that you must uproot your life in just eight weeks, leads to renters keeping our mouths shut if our landlord acts inappropriately or disrepair creeps into our home. Under the current system, we put ourselves at risk of eviction every single time we assert our rights.
The UK Government’s plans to double notice periods when being evicted, introduce protected periods from eviction and establish a landlord database will improve lives and prevent homelessness, but abolishing Section 21 remains the single biggest boost to renters’ rights on the table right now.
Reforms can and should come with a sustained effort to build homes people can afford to live in, in places we want to live. But that will take years for its effects to be felt by those who need it most.
Crucially, these new homes do not need to be owned by landlords. In fact, for our homes to become more affordable, it is better if they are not. As Generation Rent found earlier this year, there is no clear relationship between the changing size of the private rented sector as a proportion of the housing system and rent affordability. A landlord buying an existing home reduces the number of homes available to owner occupiers, so another would-be first-time buyer household continues to rent. While the number of rented homes increases, so does the number of households who have no option but to rent. Homes, not landlords, are the key to affordable rents in our country.
That’s not to say there’s no place for private renting – far from it. The building blocks are there to make renters the envy of homeowners, and responsible and fair landlords are absolutely a part of this picture. In theory, not having the financial and legal pressure of a mortgage should afford you flexibility in your life choices and freedom from the responsibility of maintenance and repairs that homeowners could only dream of.
However, as anyone renting knows, this is so far divorced from reality it is laughable. Renting in the UK is far more likely to involve putting up with substandard conditions and treatment than it is to make homeowners want to sell up and sign on to insecure and unaffordable tenancies.
Renters are suffering right now. That’s why changes are so desperately needed to make living in a rented home into an attractive choice. Only then can the vision of renters being the envy of homeowners become anything close to a reality.
Our work is not done, but improvements to renters’ rights are closer than ever. That’s down to the resilience and hard work of so many in our renters’ movement. I’m proud to have played my part in the wins we are seeing, and in the improvement in the lives of so many that is sure to follow.
To all politicians standing up for the renters they represent – you are needed now more than ever. Keep fighting the good fight and use your power for good, to rebalance the power between landlords and tenants decisively. Tenants are waiting.
I am sure that the powerful and determined renters’ rights movement will continue fighting for all of us, led by the fantastic Generation Rent and Renters’ Reform Coalition teams. It has been an honour to work and campaign alongside you all, and I await the light at the end of the tunnel making way for a brighter day for renters across this country.
