Shelter responds to the first reading of the Renters’ Rights Bill
Posted 11 Sep 2024
Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter, said: “The Renters’ Rights Bill is a watershed moment for England’s 11 million renters. By extending notice periods and ridding the country of the gross injustice of Section 21 evictions, renters will no longer live in fear of being booted out of their homes for no reason, with too little notice.
“This Bill will do far more to protect tenants than previous failed attempts, but renters shouldn’t be forced out by colossal rent hikes once the government pulls the plug on Section 21. More than 60,000 renters were walloped with extortionate rent hikes that cost them the roof over their head in the past year alone.
“To truly deliver the stability England's renters need, the Bill must limit in-tenancy rent increases so they’re in line with either inflation or wage growth. It must also protect renters from eviction for two years and stamp out discriminatory practices like demands for huge sums of rent in advance that drive homelessness.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Statistics: 61,000 private renters are forced to move every year because their landlord/ letting agent increased their rent.
YouGov/Shelter polling of 2,002 representative private renting adults in England, conducted online in March 2024, shows that the average private renter moves between private rentals 1.34 times over 5 years. Using census data on the number of private renting adults, this equates to around 2.06m moves a year.
3% (2.98%) of private renters say the main reason for their last move was because their landlord / letting agent raised the rent. This equates to an estimated 61,000 unwanted moves a year (2.06m x 2.98%).
Numbers have been rounded.