By Morgan Vine
Head of Policy and Influencing,Independent Age
Rajia is 70. She’s forced to do all her cooking in the front room because the kitchen – with a leaking roof, holes in the floor, rats running at night and walls full of mould – is unusable. Her landlord refuses to make repairs. But finding somewhere else that she and her husband can afford has proven impossible. Rajia tells us that all she wants is “to live somewhere clean and die in peace”.
Rajia’s story is a stark example of the hidden struggles many older private renters face, some of whom are living in dangerous situations and unsuitable homes, or are forced to skip meals to afford their rent. This month at Independent Age we released our new report ‘Hidden Renters: the unseen faces of the rising older rental wave’, an in-depth look at the experience of the increasing number of private renters aged 65 and above in England, over one third of whom are in poverty. We’re calling on the UK government to take urgent action to protect them from the spiralling cost of rent, the fear of a no-fault eviction and discrimination against older people on low income in receipt of benefits.
Cost of renting
Older private renters on a low income across England told us about the cuts they’ve had to make to their budget to afford their rent. 45% of all older private renters said they have experienced a rent rise in the past 12 months, and almost three in five said that this increase was between £50 and £200. But many older private renters living on a low income don’t have any spare money to cover these increases; almost one in six (15%) have less than £100 of disposable income to spend each month, leaving little to cover food and bills.
The rate of Housing Benefit that supports people to pay their rent to private landlords has been frozen since 2020, despite a 10% rise in rents nationwide in the last year alone. This is significantly adding to the distress many older renters are feeling, with almost half of all older private renters in England relying on Housing Benefit. Independent Age is calling on the government to ensure Housing Benefit covers at least the cost of the cheapest 30% of rented homes in the area and commit to increase it annually in line with changes in the local private market.
Security of tenure
Older private renters also shared with us their intense anxiety at the thought of being evicted with just two months to find alternative accommodation, which is currently legal even if they’ve done nothing wrong. In polling we commissioned from YouGov, almost one in four older private renters (23%) were evicted from their last home, so these fears are not unfounded. 70% of older private renters said it would be difficult to find a new property if they had to move house, and over one in five felt uncomfortable raising concerns with their landlord if the property needed repair, often due to the fear of being subject to a ‘revenge eviction’ in retaliation.
Looking for a home is a challenge for renters of all ages, but those aged 65 and over living on a low income can have particular difficulty with the physical demands of packing their possessions and attending house viewings, or may have additional requirements for a home such as needing a ground floor flat due to reduced mobility. All of this can limit their options when looking for somewhere new.
Discrimination
Many older renters also told us that they faced ageism or discrimination from letting agents or landlords because they received benefits. Current loopholes in the law mean landlords and estate agents can refuse to rent to people who receive Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit.
When looking at all of this together, you start to get a picture of how desperate searching for a new home can be. Renters urgently need greater protections.
It felt like there was some light at the end of this very dark tunnel in the form of the Renters (Reform) Bill. The bill proposes an end to the Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’, and if amended could outlaw blanket bans on benefit recipients by landlords and lengthen the amount of notice someone has if they need to move out of their rented home for a legitimate reason. We also want the bill to ensure that private rented homes meet the Decent Homes Standard, as social housing already must. However, this bill has now been delayed for many months, keeping renters of all ages in insecurity and uncertainty. It’s vital that the UK government moves the bill forward as soon as possible.
The challenges of our private rented sector affect people of all ages; those in power must not look away. Everyone deserves somewhere affordable and safe where they can stay long term. Surely as a country we can do better to ensure people like Rajia can enjoy their later life in a place they’re proud to call home?
