Citizens Advice now helping one renter every minute as eviction ban just “papering over the cracks”

New research by Citizens Advice shows the charity is now helping one person every minute with problems relating to renting from a private landlord.

In the first two months of this year, the charity saw a 40% increase in people seeking one-to-one advice on issues relating to the private rented sector compared to the same period in 2020. 

A year ago today the government announced a ban on most eviction proceedings. That ban was extended several times and is in place until May 31. However, its conditions have been altered so tenants with more than six months rent outstanding can now be served with an eviction notice. This includes people who have built up arrears during the pandemic.

Polling by Citizens Advice, through its national Tenants’ Voice panel, shows private renters are still concerned by the threat of eviction despite the ban. A third said they had been worried about the issue in the last three months.

Figures from the charity's website show In the first two months of the year 69,000 people viewed its advice pages dealing with problems related to private tenancies.

Citizens Advice also helped 16,530 people with one-to-one advice on these issues in the same two-month period. That’s one every minute during office hours. This includes:

• 4,781 (29%) who had problems with repairs or maintenance

• 1,541 (9%) who were worried about possession action not related to rent arrears

• 848 (5%) who reported harassment by their landlord

• 670 (4%) who wanted help with a possible illegal eviction.

The Tenants’ Voice panel also found two thirds of those surveyed had experienced problems with maintenance or disrepair in the last three months. 

Case study:

Sophia, a teaching assistant, is the single parent of a toddler. She also cares for her disabled father who lives with her and her daughter. 

She came to Citizens Advice for help when she was issued with a Section 21 eviction notice by her landlord after complaining about maintenance problems, including extended periods without heating or hot water.

She has paid hundreds of pounds out of her own money for repairs. This has left her struggling to afford the rent and her landlord has said he’s charging her 8.1% interest a day for late rent. 

Sophia said: “I have had to wash up in the bath, wash my daughter’s clothes in the bath. She has woken up cold in the night, it’s been a nightmare. Previously we always paid our rent 100% - even throughout the pandemic.

“I’m a wreck. I can't sleep. I am up every night at 3am in the morning and throwing up worrying about it. I have until the end of May to find somewhere to live.”

Opportunity for change:

Citizens Advice says the forthcoming Renters’ Reform Bill is an opportunity to lay the foundations of a more equitable private rented sector. The charity wants:

• An end to Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions - as promised by the government in 2019

• Indefinite tenancies used as standard, to give renters more certainty and flexibility, and reduce their exposure to annual rent increases.

• A new National Housing Body and register to set consistent standards, give tenants greater protection, and help responsible landlords  

Alistair Cromwell, Acting Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:

“The government’s eviction ban helped private tenants feel more secure during the pandemic. But it’s been a case of papering over the cracks.

“Our research paints a disturbing picture of a private rental market in which tenants pay high rents on badly maintained properties, while living in constant fear that any complaint could result in summary eviction.

“The Renters’ Reform Bill is an opportunity to lay better foundations for a more equitable private rental market which provides better quality housing and helps tenants feel more settled in their homes.”

Background:

The full report One Renter Every Minute is available here.

Our report in January New Year Same Arrears showed:

• Half a million private renters in the UK are behind on their rent. The average amount owed is more than £700, with an estimated £360 million owed across the UK

• More than half (58%) of those behind on rent had no rent arrears in February 2020.

• For people already struggling with rent before the pandemic, 40% reported their arrears have got worse. 

In the report Getting the House in Order, our research showed tenants who do complain about disrepair or maintenance issues have a 46% chance of being issued with a section 21 eviction notice within six months of doing so.

Notes to editors

1. The Citizens Advice Tenants Voice panel is made up of 700 private renters from across England. The project is funded by the Nationwide Foundation. The panel has been exploring tenants’ experiences of renting during coronavirus, through quarterly surveys and interviews.
2. One renter every minute calculation: In January and February 2021 we our offices saw 16,530 clients for one-to-one advice about PRS issues. Over 40 working days in that time period this works out to be 1 client with a PRS issue every 1 min and 10 seconds.Advice includes the national charity; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
3. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer advocate for energy and post. We provide supplier performance information to consumers and policy analysis to decision makers.
4. The Citizens Advice Witness Service provides free, independent support for prosecution and defence witnesses in every criminal court in England and Wales.
5. Citizens Advice offers Pension Wise services at 500 locations in England and Wales.
6. Citizens Advice’s services are free, independent, confidential and impartial, and available to all regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
7. To get advice online or find your local Citizens Advice, visit citizensadvice.org.uk
8. For consumer advice, call the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 to talk in Welsh.
9. We helped 2.6 million people face to face, by phone, email and webchat in 2017-18. For service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
10. Citizens Advice staff are supported by over 23,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 locations in England and Wales.