One in six renters on benefits at risk of eviction this winter, figures show
Almost one in six private renters on housing benefit are at risk of eviction this winter, according to alarming new figures.
More than half - 55% - are also worried about becoming homeless because of sky-high costs, according to a survey for the charity Shelter. The organisation is demanding that housing benefit is unfrozen "immediately" rather than in four months' time as currently planned by the Tories.
The damning findings show that 16% of those on benefits in the rental sector are at risk of eviction, including 8% of those behind on their rent. More than 2 in 5 - 42% - also blamed being in arrears due to a hike in rent payments while 37% said they had borrowed money to pay their rent. Among those at risk of eviction, 9% said they had received a formal or informal eviction notice, or threatened with removal by a landlord.
It comes after years of Tory delays over the promise to abolish section 21 eviction notices, which allow landlords to evict tenants on a whim and without reason. Former Tory PM Theresa May first made the vow in 2019 and four years later the Renters’ Reform Bill is still making its way through Parliament.
Chief Executive of Shelter Polly Neate told The Mirror: “Decades of government failure to build enough genuinely affordable social homes has left too many renters at the mercy of overpriced and insecure private renting." She added: “Every day our frontline services are hearing from families on low incomes who have been hit with a rent increase from their landlord they simply can’t afford.
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"Others are facing the very real threat of homelessness because rents in their area have skyrocketed and their housing benefit simply won’t cover the costs. Although the government has promised to unfreeze housing benefit from 2020 levels, this won’t take effect until April, leaving many families still at risk of losing their homes this winter. Housing benefit must be immediately unfrozen to help families avoid homelessness.
"But to solve the housing emergency once and for all, every political party must commit to building a new generation of truly affordable social homes. Until then, our frontline services will be there for those who need help finding or keeping hold of a safe home this winter.”
A government spokesman said: “We recognise the cost-of-living pressures that tenants are facing, with rent likely to be their biggest monthly expense. That’s why we are providing £104 billion over three years to help households and individuals, including increasing Local Housing Allowance. This means that 1.6 million low-income households will be around £800 a year better off on average. Our landmark Renters Reform Bill offers better protections for vulnerable tenants, and our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver the genuinely affordable homes the country needs.”
'I just want a secure home for myself and my children'
Single mum Cherelle is living in her fifth temporary home in the space of just seven months with her two-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son. The 35-year-old was originally made homeless in February after being served with a section 21 eviction notice - something the Tories first promised to ban back in 2019.
She works part-time and receives Universal Credit to top up her income, but could not afford a £250-a-month rent hike her landlord in Wolverhampton was demanding at the time. "It's been horrible," she says. "Mentally, it really took its toll. Moving from one place to another. You have to do it all yourself.
"I've had to ask friends, sometimes I've had to pay taxis with money that I haven't really got to move and stuff. It's just been really difficult. People who get evicted through no fault of their own, they are families, they are vulnerable. There's no compassion, there's nothing at all."
Since being evicted she has lived in two hotels with no cooking facilities, a bedsit, and another temporary home with damp and mould issues - despite her daughter's asthma. "Eventually after two months they moved us into this two bedroom [temporary] house at the moment. Me and my daughter share a bed and my son has the other room," she says.
Her local council has told her it will take between 12-18 months to get a permanent house. She also told the charity Shelter: “As a mother I feel like a failure. I try my hardest, to put food on the table, to work, to manage the nursery fees. But with the cost of everything goes up you’re just fighting a losing battle. I’ve felt like giving up so many times but you can’t. You have to keep going for your children. I just want a secure home for myself and my children – a safe environment for them to grow and thrive.”
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