Generation rent: the private rental crisis report
A UNISON and Generation Rent report on the issues faced by UNISON members within the private rented sector
Date posted:
1 June 2024
Round table discussions with UNISON members showed that renting in England is not fit for purpose to house working households and families. Participants detailed issues with renting safe, secure, decent and affordable homes, such as rising local rents and constant fear of being evicted through no fault of their own. This is driving a recruitment and retention problem in public services, as workers consider moving to work and live elsewhere.
Four issues emerged:
- Participants struggled to find affordable homes to rent
- Poor standards and disrepair were commonplace, some endangering health
- Working renters struggled to assert their rights, with worries over ‘no fault’ evictions made worse by the lack of affordable homes
- The poor treatment of renters by some landlords and letting agents was something that many felt they had to withstand due to the lack of good-quality, affordable homes to move into
Tenant solutions included:
- Legislate to ban no-fault evictions.
- Introduce rent controls.
- Regulate application process and ban ‘bidding wars’.
- Require private landlords to complete repairs with a statutory timeframe.
- Adequately resource councils and strengthen enforcement against criminal landlords and letting agents.
- Introduce benefits system that works not to discourage working more hours and supports tenants to pay the rent and cover other costs.
- End Right to Rent checks and other hostile environment policy.
- End the Right to Buy in England and build more affordable housing, council and social rented housing.