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Private renters spending £0.5bn a year on ‘unwanted moves’, Shelter says
Shelter has released new figures suggesting that private sector renters in England are spending £550m a year on “unwanted moves” as it steps up its pressure on the government over promised sector reforms.
Renters are spending an average of £669 in “unrecoverable costs” for every forced move, according to new research by the charity. The costs include paying double rent when moving, removal van costs and buying new furniture.
In total there were an estimated 830,000 unwanted moves in the past 12 months, based on Shelter’s analysis of YouGov figures.
The figures are based on a YouGov survey conducted among 2,002 private renting adults in England.
Of those questioned, 40% said that a move in the past year was “unwanted”.
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It comes as the long-delayed Renters (Reform Bill) is expected to continue its passage in parliament now that MPs have returned after the Easter recess.
However campaigners have voiced fears about the proposals being watered down after a leaked letter from a government minister putting forward amendments to allay the concerns of some Conservative MPs.
Shelter’s analysis showed that 245,000 renters had to move in the past year because their fixed term tenancy came to an end.
In addition, 61,000 renters were priced out by a rent increase, while nearly 190,000 were served with a legal eviction notice. Around 135,000 were “informally asked to leave by their landlord”, according to the charity.
Shelter said that the amendments could delay the ban on Section 21 evictions, known as no-fault evictions, and reintroduce a form of fixed-term tenancies.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Tenants are coughing up millions in unwanted and unwarranted moves, while the government runs scared of a minority of its own MPs.”
She said it is “now or never for the government to make good on its promise to deliver a watertight bill”.
Ms Neate added: “[The government] must resist spurious attempts to sneak fixed-term tenancies back in, and to indefinitely delay the ban on no-fault evictions. England’s 11 million tenants will remember all too well who fought for them when they finally head to the ballot box.”
A promised ban on no-fault evictions was included in the Conservatives’ last election manifesto, which was published nearly four-and-a-half years ago.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has been contacted for comment.
Responding to separate comments made to Inside Housing about the Renters (Reform) Bill, a DLUHC spokesperson said the government was “still committed” to delivering the legislation to “provide a fairer private rented sector for both tenants and landlords”.
