Today (21 April 2021)
new UK government statistics show
that almost 1 in 5 private
renters in England
are either in arrears or likely to fall into arrears in the
next three months.
The statistics come
from the Household Resilience
Study: Wave
2, a survey conducted between
November-December 2020 and in follow up to the Wave
1 survey, completed between June-July
2020.
Key findings
include:
-
In November-December
2020, 9% of private renters (353,000 households) were in
arrears. This compares to 3% in 2019-20 and 7%
in June-July
2020.
-
A further 8% of
private renters said they were very or
fairly
likely to fall behind with rent payments in the
next three months (approximately
278,000 households).
-
The main
reasons renters gave for
falling
into
arrears were being furloughed on reduced pay
(15%) or working fewer hours/less over time
(14%).
Matt Downie, Director of Policy and
External Affairs at Crisis, said:
“We urgently need a financial package of
support for the thousands of renters in arrears, especially
with the end of the bailiff-led eviction ban fast
approaching.
“The financial impact
of the pandemic has hit those on the lowest incomes, with the
smallest savings the hardest. Unable to work or with their
wages and hours cut, the number of people who have been
unable to avoid building up rent arrears
has tripled
over the last year,
reaching unprecedented levels”
“They now face the very real prospect of
being forced into homelessness, with the pandemic not
over, unless the UK
Government
takes
emergency
action.
“But renters need more
than temporary
lifelines of
support.
We urge the UK Government to bring forward
the Renters Reform Bill in the Queen’s Speech next
month and
put in place measures
to protect renters in the long-term.”
