The Renters’ Rights Act: a turning point for London’s renters, if enforced properly
In three years to 2024, over a third of London councils did not prosecute a single criminal landlord. At the same time, the cost of renting in the capital has […]
Single Londoners face 56-year wait to buy a home
Being single adds 49 years to the time needed to save a deposit to buy a home in London compared with being in a couple, according to our latest analysis. […]
What it will take to fix London’s housing crisis
One in five of Britain’s private renters lives in London, and the capital is one of the least affordable places to rent your home. Things have got so bad, the […]
Ministers should activate army of tenants to enforce new rules
London’s renters face a postcode lottery when dealing with criminal operators, with just five councils responsible for 87% of fines on landlords and letting agents who break the law, our […]
Why rent refunds are the key to fixing the rental market
One tweak to the Renters (Reform) Bill could transform renters’ awareness of rights, drive up landlords’ compliance with new rules and reduce council’s workload at a time of financial difficulty. […]
I can’t save as a renter in London – Adam’s story
At the end of January 2020, I was made redundant. However, I was given a much appreciated redundancy package with severance pay, and was able to quickly find a new job to move into. That was however before the coronavirus and lockdown was enforced and, at the end of March, I lost this job as well. I was able to temporarily pay my rent and living costs from my original severance pay, but under the unaffordable rent costs in London, these savings soon dwindled away.
In good faith, and in an effort to avoid debt, I contacted my landlord, requesting that, with the allowances property owners had been given by the Government, I could have a rent reduction until I found another job. My request was met with an outright rejection, and I quickly started receiving aggressive letters from my landlord’s solicitors, demanding that I pay the rent in full. This was impossible, and I was forced to terminate my tenancy in London and move away.
How the next mayor can crack down on London’s criminal landlords
With candidates for London Mayor starting to set out their pledges, we reveal that half of London’s boroughs did not fine any landlords for letting out unsafe homes in the past year.
Join our campaign to demand the candidates fix the city’s renting crisis.
The winner of the mayoral election could step up the fight against criminal landlords overnight by letting tenants check online if their home needs and has a licence. An estimated 130,000 private rented homes in London do not have the correct licence, making 1 in 8 private renters eligible for a refund of rent. Those are good odds.
Another result of London’s failed housing system – increased child poverty
Figures produced by the End Child Poverty Coalition this week show distressing levels of child poverty after housing costs are included, including within much of London.
The data breaks down levels of child poverty by parliamentary constituency, local authority, and local ward level, and shows that of the twenty constituencies with the highest levels of child poverty, seven are in London, while 11 out of 20 of the highest figures at local authority level are also in the capital.
Minimum acceptable living standards in London – and how housing costs cut right through them
This week Trust for London, in conjunction with Loughborough University, published their latest report on a Minimum Income Standard (MIS) for London – with figures updated from their first report in 2015, and with a focus in this research on families.
The MIS compares costs between London and the rest of the UK to show the difference between the minimum needed for an acceptable standard of living – with that minimum based on a list of goods discussed and agreed upon by the public.
We can draw many conclusions from the report, and though it should surprise no one that the cost of housing is a major differential between London and the rest of the UK, the research shows that the rising cost of private rents in the lower end of the market stops a large number of households achieving the MIS.
London Housing – a new opportunity to push for greater security
Delayed from August, this week saw the publication of the London Mayor’s draft housing strategy, which is now open for consultation for three months.
Covering all housing policy from leasehold reform to tackling street homelessness, the strategy also has a specific section devoted to the private rented sector. With a quarter of London’s children in the private rented sector, and millions of renters living in poverty, we all know how urgently action is needed.
We’ll be coming back to parts of the strategy in the coming weeks, but here we just focus on the main headlines for renters.
The strategy builds on the Mayor’s manifest commitment and previous public statements, and although the Mayor lacks the powers to fundamentally transform London’s PRS, there are nonetheless some steps forward and potential to go further.