Homelessness fears for almost three million renters

New research commissioned for the charity by the Financial Inclusion Centre has identified 2.9 million renters as in rent arrears or struggling to pay their rents.

High numbers of renters seek help from CCCS each year with over half of the 418,000 people who sought help from the charity last year living in rented accommodation. Their average debt varied depending on how they rented their property.

Those with a private landlord owed an average of £18,733 in unsecured debts, whereas those renting from a housing association or local authority owed quite a bit less at £14,239 and £12,612 respectively.

The charity expects the numbers of renters seeking help from it to rise and is concerned that many will end up homeless as a range of budget pressures such as high inflation, welfare benefit and tax changes as well as wage freezes will leave more people unable to save. It says that, unlike many homeowners, renters have not benefited from historically low interest rates.

CCCS external affairs director Delroy Corinaldi said:

"The next few years are going to be tough for many people as the economy has shown few signs of improving and those living in rented accommodation will be at the sharp end of this.     

"I fear that many will end up homeless."