Renters tell us the same stories again and again – rents are out of control, the cost of living is hammering household budgets, and wages are not keeping pace. UNISON, the public service union, found that in 2023 almost a third (32%) of their private renter members were spending 60% or more of their incomes on rent.
Worse still, the lack of affordable homes for working private renters means that many are being forced to endure poor conditions.
“We had a period where we had no heating and no hot water for almost a month. My housemate got really ill, they were admitted to hospital with a severe chest infection,” said Jake from Coventry.
“It was snowing [and we were] without hot water and heating and lights on the ground floor for two weeks,” said Eleanor from London.
Horror stories, rife with poor and even dangerous conditions and nowhere affordable to go to. This is how the system itself works against us, making it impossible to find a safe and secure home free from the fear of eviction and homelessness.
Julie explains how even when we’re settled, the feeling of insecurity follows us: “I get into September/October, and I start to get this gnawing anxiety, because October is when I find out whether I’ve still got a tenancy or not.”
Landlords in England are able to easily evict their tenants with section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions or through unaffordable rent increases. And, echoing Generation Rent research finding that three in five private renters were given a rent increase in 2023, Eleanor sums it up: “The longer you rent, the less secure you feel.”
Mel’s story hammers this home. She said: “The reason I had to move out of my old place was because my landlord was going to increase my rent by 15%.” This came as even more of a shock because Mel didn’t realise they could raise it by that much in one go.
No renter should be denied a safe and secure home and certainly not the hard-working people we need to keep the basic functioning of society and communities running.
How can this be right? A constant fear of being unfairly evicted and facing homelessness, huge proportions of wages going towards the rent, poor and dangerous conditions, and terrible treatment from people shirking their responsibilities as landlords and letting agents.
Our private rental system is broken, but it is not beyond mending. Workers demand bolder solutions to the rental crisis. Our report outlines how to fix this: a system built on decency and true affordability for everyone. An increase in social homes alongside improved rights and protections for renters and effective regulation to get rid of exploitative and criminal landlords and agents.
Now is the time to listen to renters and fight for a system that prioritises security and comfort in our own homes that they deserve. A new government brings with it an opportunity to make this a reality, ensuring lasting change for the millions of people who deserve a decent, stable and affordable place to call home.
The participants quoted in this story were taken from roundtables conducted by Generation Rent and UNISON with their membership in England in 2024. All names have been changed to protect the participants’ identities. Read the full report of the findings here.
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