Almost half of private renters 'just one paycheck away from losing home'

Poll finds that almost seven in 10 private renters are struggling or falling behind on rent payments.

Almost half of private renters are just one paycheck away from losing their home, according to new polling.

The survey shows that 45% of tenants would only be able to afford their rent from savings for up to a month if they lost their job. But of those people 28% say their savings would not cover their bills at all.

The figures from the housing charity Shelter by YouGov come as private renters face sky-rocketing rents. Research earlier this year found that average rents could surge by 13% over the next three years - piling even more pressure on cash-strapped renters.

The poll also finds that almost seven in 10 private renters are struggling or falling behind on rent payments.

Last week Keir Starmer promised to end "bidding wars" between cash-strapped renters. Currently some landlords pit potential tenants against each other in a fight to see who can offer the biggest sum as they search for a home.

But renters' groups urged the Labour leader to go further to tackle unaffordable private rents. Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said: “Decades of failure to build enough social housing has forced millions into private renting, driving rents up and standards down.

"In our services, we hear week after week from renters forced to stump up eye watering sums for shoddy rentals and struggling families who have been slapped with yet another unfair rent increase. A huge number of renters have nothing left to put aside at the end of the month, and in too many cases, are just one paycheck away from losing their homes.

"Make no mistake – our housing system is broken and the only way to fix it is to build genuinely affordable social homes. If the next government wants to deliver real change, we need 90,000 homes for social rent a year for ten years. And we need renting to be made safer, secure and more affordable.”

Figures are from a YouGov/Shelter survey of 2,002 private renting adults in England, including 1,545 working private renters. The survey was conducted online in March 2024 and is representative of private renters in England.