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Government contradicts its own ‘broken rental market’ claims

Latest English Housing Survey published yesterday shows vast majority of tenants are happy with their lot and rents are falling as percentage of pay.

Nigel Lewis

rental market

The Government’s claim that the private rental market is ‘broken’ looks questionable after its latest English Housing Survey has revealed that 84% of renters are satisfied with their current accommodation.

After canvassing nearly 14,000 rented households, the survey also reveals that three quarters of tenants in the private sector are happy with repairs and maintenance of their rented home.

Renters are also spending a smaller proportion of their earnings on rent than they did four years ago, and the report also shows that the vast majority of tenants move out because they want to, rather than because they are being evicted.

Link to Lettings news“Today’s English Housing Survey dispels the myth that private renting means insecure tenancies and ever increasing costs,” says David Smith, Policy Director at the Residential Landlords Association (left).

Smith also says the survey should make the government stop and think about their proposed reform of eviction laws, which will see Section 21 ‘no excuse’ notices banned.

“It [also] shows that renters are spending less of their income on housing, at 33%, down from 34% the previous year and 36% in 2014/15, and are staying in their homes for over four years on average.”

The picture is not so rosy for younger renters. Paid less, rent takes up a greater proportion of their income and, on average, 16 to 24 olds spend 45% of their income on rent.

London also remains an extremely expensive rental market. Private sector tenants there spend 42% of their income on rent, regardless of their age.

 

July 18, 2019

One comment

  1. Realistically does anyone in government have a clue what’s going on outside their little bubble? It seems to me that the only way to get anyone in government to listen is to propose measures that will stand a chance of them getting a few votes. Had this survey been available before any of the latest harebrain schemes proposed by government they would have totally ignored it because they believe everything that their friends at shelter tell them; if shelter said the earth was flat, government would believe them!

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