One-fifth of tenants’ fear becoming homeless

New research has found that just over one in five (21%) of adults in the UK are ‘seriously concerned’ about becoming homeless within the next six months.

The survey of 2,674 renters over the age of 18 was carried out by the personal finance experts at myfavouritevouchercodes.co.uk amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

The firm says that tenants are facing soaring rent prices, food costs and stagnating wages which are all having an effect.

Indeed, regular pay has risen by 4.3% this year, but this is against a backdrop of a 78% energy price cap increase set for October, inflation at 9.1% and rental prices increasing by 2.7% across the country.

Real prospect of homelessness

All respondents were first asked how real the prospect of homelessness was to them in their current financial situation, revealing that more than one in five adults (21%) consider the idea of homelessness within the next six months as a ‘real concern’.

And since the rental housing market represents 35% of the UK’s housing stock and around 8.4 million renters, means there are currently 1.76 million tenants who are currently fearful of homelessness.

When asked why they consider their current situation to be as perilous as they do, the top factors given were:

• Lack of affordable housing – 73%
• Rental prices – 69%
• Energy bills – 55%
• Inflation in the supermarket – 31%
• Wage stagnation – 27%.

The survey also reveals that the number of rental properties on the market has almost halved (49%) over the last three years, with 94% of those homes being sold by landlords.

When asked about the lack of affordable housing, the statistics were mirrored by the respondents, with almost three-quarters (73%) worrying about finding somewhere affordable to live.

Keeping up with rent repayments

The study then asked what lengths tenants have gone to pay rent on their current property, to better ascertain the level of crisis facing the average renter. The top responses were:

• Borrowing money – 76%
• Selling items – 71%
• Skipping meals – 59%
• Working second jobs – 55%
• Stealing essentials from supermarkets – 26%.

When asked if the respondents blamed the government for the current financial situation, 93% said ‘Yes’ – firmly placing the blame at the door of Number 10.

‘State of the rental market creating a backdrop of despair’

Julian House, the managing director at myfavouritevouchercodes.co.uk, said: “We are currently teetering on the precipice of national economic disaster – with the energy price cap set to soar in October, inflation set to increase, wage stagnation rampant throughout all business industries, and the state of the rental market creating a backdrop of despair.

“The government have a number of issues to address, that much is clear, but the cost-of-living crisis as an entity in itself, must be a priority for any incumbent leadership candidate.”

He added: “With homelessness such a real worry for this number of people, in a wealthy country like the UK, it is truly staggering that this is an issue that people are in fear of not escaping.”

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