700,000 renters hit with unfair eviction notices during pandemic
One in 12 private renters has been given notice to move out without a reason since March 2020, a new poll by Survation reveals today.
The survey, commissioned by us, indicates that as many as 694,000 private tenants have been served with a Section 21 notice during the pandemic, which allows landlords to evict tenants without needing a reason.
The survey also found that one in three private renters fears that they will lose their home in the year ahead – which represents nearly 3 million adults in England.
Londoners need a Mayor for Rent Controls
Paying more than a third of your income in rent is considered unaffordable. However, rent on a typical two-bedroom home costs some 45% of a full-time salary in London, analysis by Generation Rent finds today.
Moreover, private renters in nine London boroughs face paying half of their income or more on rent.
London’s skyrocketing rents are pushing families into poverty and financial stress, and making it harder to save or to start a family.
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Rishi Sunak has missed an opportunity to end the Rent Debt Crisis
The Government has failed to bring in measures that would end the Rent Debt Crisis. The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, set aside no additional funding in yesterday’s Budget to pay off rent arrears accrued under the pandemic, or to increase Local Housing Allowance to cover actual rents.
Myth Busting Private Rent
There are a lot of myths and misconseptions about private renting out there, often peddled by landlords that hover around our comment sections. We asked private renters what the biggest misconseptions around renting they had encountered were, and these were your resonses along with our own comments on the matter.
Heat our homes, not the planet!
Two thirds of private renters need much stronger energy efficiency standards if they are to enjoy warmer homes that are affordable to heat and free of damp and mould. That’s what our latest research with the Generation Rent Renters’ Panel finds.
Installing insulation and other improvements improves a property’s value but landlords are leaving their tenants to put up with cold and draughty homes. Even the £5000 Green Homes Grant the government introduced in September has not nudged landlords into action.
As well as higher legal standards, tenants need incentives to demand improvements. Right now many don’t know if they will stay long enough to benefit from improvements and worry that their landlord would raise the rent if they made improvements. Tenancy reform is needed to give renters confidence to ask for improvements, and the ability to claim back rent if their landlord leaves them with an inefficient home.
We need to stop unfair Covid evictions – Jacqueline’s Story
Generation Rent supporter Jacqueline tells her story of facing eviction from a Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction during Covid.
Chancellor must set up a Covid Rent Debt Fund
Coronavirus has seen one in three private renters lose income, and Universal Credit is nowhere near enough to cover average rents. As a result half a million households are now in rent arrears of £730 on average, according to Citizens Advice.
We are calling on Rishi Sunak to use his Budget next month to create a Covid Rent Debt Fund to clear rent arrears and keep renters in their homes.