The cost of living crisis

Almost 2.5 million renters are either behind or constantly struggling to pay their rent - an increase of 45% since April 2022.

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We need more than just hacks

The cost of living crisis is pushing renters to breaking point, and the government is sitting back while rents spiral out of control.

From reusing your old teabags to putting on another jumper, taking shorter showers to just ‘working more hours’ – as one politician suggested, the news is full of ways to survive the worst cost of living crisis in the UK since the 1950s.

Some of these ideas are sensible, many are ridiculous, and some are just insulting – patronising people who are already doing all they can to get by. Because, as Money Saving Expert founder, Martin Lewis, said:

There is no cutting back. You could put me into one of those households and do every trick in the book and I wouldn't even get close to scratching the sides of what is needed.

Make housing more affordable

Though it feels like the cost of everything has rocketed all at once, the cost of housing has in fact been rising more than it should have for decades, and successive governments have done little to address it – which means we're now dealing with a housing emergency and a cost of living crisis at the same time.

This is unsustainable.

Almost 1 in 7 had their rent increased in the last month
Of the 3.5 million private tenants who had their rent increased over 800,000 saw it rise by more than £100 a month, and nearly 200,000 by more than £300 a month
Almost 2.5 million renters are either behind or constantly struggling to pay their rent
1 in 3 spend at least half their household income on rent

What the government must do

To avoid catastrophe, the government must:

act now to end homelessness - make housing benefit adequate to protect vulnerable renters
cap social rent increases at 3%
build more social homes to end the housing emergency in years to come

People are struggling to survive a crisis we didn’t create. And we think it’s time responsibility went back where it belongs: with the government.

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