Calls for the government to protect financially vulnerable renters

The government has been urged to do more for people struggling to pay their rent.

Charities around the UK called on Secretary of State Michael Gove to prioritise the Renters (Reform) Bill in this parliamentary session as well as including stronger protections in the Bill for private renters experiencing financial difficulty.

 It’s becoming difficult for many private tenants to keep up their payments and new polling by YouGov for StepChange Debt Charity revealed private renters are twice as likely to be in debt as the average person, while 53% of private renters say they’ve found it difficult to keep up with bills and credit commitments in the past few months.

The Renters Bill as it currently stands would give landlords an automatic right to evict private tenants in two months or more of rent arrears without offering any support or seeking to agree a repayment plan.

Now Gove is being called upon to add a new tenancy support programme which would introduce reasonable steps private landlords must take to support tenants in financial difficulty to sustain tenancies, including referring them to benefits advice and seeking to agree an affordable repayment plan for arrears.

This would be like the pre-action protocol that exists for social tenants in rent arrears.

It’s reported that there’s strong public support for this with 72% of UK adults agreeing that private landlords should be required to offer their tenants an affordable repayment plan before being allowed to pursue eviction, and this support extends across political party lines.

Are you struggling to make your rent?

If you’re on a low income or claim benefits, you may be able to get a council tax reduction of up to 100%. Check to see if you’re eligible.

Use our free benefits calculator to check you’re getting all the financial support you're entitled to.

Find budgeting tips in our blog on how to manage rising rents and mortgage interest rates. 

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