Hundreds of thousands of Yorkshire renters worried about paying rent over winter, survey finds

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) conducted a survey which found that many households are building up “unmanageable amounts” of unpaid rent, with some facing eviction.

Across the region an estimated 270,000 private renters are worried about paying their rent over the next three months (November, December and January) - almost a third (29 per cent) of all private renters in the region.

Immediately prior to Covid-19, JRF said that the number of renters worried about paying their rent was a reported 150,000 - an increase of 80 per cent.

The report found Yorkshire and Humber, the North West and London are all areas that have seen significant increases in the proportion of households worried about paying their rent since before coronavirus hit.

It added all are areas that have been hit hard by rising coronavirus cases and were subject to greater restrictions in late October when the survey was carried out.

Nationally the survey revealed around 2.5 million households in the UK are worried about paying rent over winter, with 700,000 already in arrears and 350,000 at risk of eviction.

With an estimated 1.3 million households in the private sector (30 per cent), and 1.2 million households in the social sector (27 per cent) are worried about paying their rent over the next three months.

Helen Barnard, director at the JRF, said: "Millions of people are anxious about paying the rent over winter, having run down their limited savings, reduced their spending and borrowed from friends, family or the bank. The worrying number of households already in arrears shows renters are running out of options.

"Without action we could see a wave of evictions and a surge in homelessness over the winter."

About 700,000 renters are currently in arrears with their rent and 1.7 million (19 per cent) are in arrears with household bills or council tax payments.

Approximately 80,000 households in the private sector and 125,000 households in the social sector have arrears of more than £1,000.

The JRF says the current total household arrears runs into the hundreds of millions, with £400m of arrears in England and Wales as a conservative estimate.

And the independent social change organisation working to solve UK poverty has warned that without immediate targeted support, renters who have seen their incomes drop will be at risk of real hardship this winter and may lose their homes.

It has urged the Government to reinstate a watertight eviction ban to prevent a “surge of homelessness” this winter.

Ms Barnard, who is also a member of the West Yorkshire Economic Recovery Board, said: "The Government acted swiftly during the first wave of the pandemic to ensure no one would be forced from their home, rightly recognizing that we all want to protect one another from harm during this crisis. Bringing back a watertight ban on evictions now is the right thing to do.

"But without action which seeks to address growing arrears, any ban on eviction or enforcement only kicks the can down the road, with renters vulnerable to losing their homes again as restrictions are lifted.

"A targeted package of support to address high rent arrears will give renters and landlords much needed breathing space as we continue to weather the storm."

More from The Joseph Rowntree Foundation report:

The report also found as many as 350,000 renting households have had their landlord discuss eviction with them – which equates to four per cent of all renters.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic renters and those who have experienced a drop in income are being hit the hardest.

Families with children that rent privately are more likely to be worried than other households, with four in ten, approximately 600,000 households, concerned about paying their rent over winter.

The survey found that 61 per cent of all renter households where someone is facing a drop in income in November and 62 per cent of renter households where someone is unemployed are worried about paying rent.

To try and stay afloat, 41 per cent of private renters and 34 per cent of social renters who have seen a drop in income have used their savings to offset this, but one in four private renters (42 per cent) and two thirds of social renters (65 per cent) in the UK have savings of less than £500.

A total of 10,719 adults were surveyed, of which 2,989 were renters, between October 20 and 27.

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