England’s housing supply lost nearly 11,000 properties to the second home and holiday let sector between 2021 and 2022, according to our new analysis of local tax data.

Content warning: Sexual offences

Research conducted by Generation Rent and Mumsnet has revealed a shocking prevalence of predatory behaviour, from unscrupulous landlords and letting agents towards tenants, in the private rented sector.

In a survey of 1045 submissions, respondents reported that unscrupulous landlords or letting agents had acted inappropriately or predatorily towards them in the past:

• 4% of respondents had been offered free or discounted rent in exchange for sexual favours
• 14% had experienced suggestive remarks
• 12% heard comments of a sexual nature
• 11% experienced unwanted comments about their body or appearance
• 4% had experienced unwanted touching

And private renters not in a relationship and on lower incomes were significantly more likely to report that they had experienced harassment and abuse.

Housing has always been an important aspect of the fight for racial equality. In celebration of Black History Month 2022, at Generation Rent we are commemorating the work of black campaigners and their fight towards housing equality. However, it is also important to acknowledge how far we still have to go.

In this episode of the podcast Sophie is joined by Zoe Avison from the Green Alliance to discuss how best to keep your home warm this winter and why insulation and greener, cheaper forms of energy are so important for renters. To find out more about the Green Alliance, visit their website here 

Freddie Poser is Director of PricedOut, the national campaign for affordable house prices

Being a renter can suck, and it seems to get worse every year with higher rents, unfair deposit deductions, no-fault evictions, application letters, and new listings being snapped up in mere seconds. What can we do? One path is to reform the rental market to give tenants more protections. Another, complementary, path is to improve the renters’ bargaining power by increasing the supply of properties on the market. But raising supply has been politically very difficult, with many reform efforts foundering on the rocks of public opposition. Street votes are different. While it might not change the world tomorrow, it might just deliver supply where other efforts have failed.

In this episode of the podcast, Sophie is joined by Rachael Maskell, the MP for York Central, Dr Tom Simcock Research Fellow & Research Manager of the Healthy Housing Initiative at the University of Huddersfield and Dan Wilson Craw, Deputy Director of Generation Rent to discuss holiday lets, their impact on the private rented sector and what potential solutions their are to mitigate their impact on local housing.

If you would like to find out more about our work on holiday lets you can read our report here and sign our holiday lets petition here. 

If you have a story you would like to share on the podcast or want a particular topic covered in a future episode then contact Will at [email protected] to discuss your idea. 

Nearly half of private renters have faced a rent increase in the last year, our latest survey has found, which is why we are calling for the government to impose a rent freeze to fight the cost of living crisis.

Pride month is nearly at an end, but that doesn’t mean that issues affecting LGBTQ+ people will suddenly disappear. Discrimination, both explicit and structural, remains an unfortunate reality for non-heterosexual, trans and non-binary people in every facet of day-to-day life.

Two thirds of private renters are unaware that their local council can help them with certain problems with their landlord, letting agent or home, according to our latest research.

After a consultation, a General Election, three Queen’s Speeches and a pandemic, the government’s plans for reform of the rental market are finally here. The commitment to abolish Section 21 that kicked off this process back in 2019 is still the centrepiece of the reforms, but there are wider changes to landlord regulation as well.