Extending the mortgage payment holiday further highlights the precarious situation of renters

Homeowners will welcome the extra breathing space of six months of no mortgage payments, writes Ben Chapman, but tenants find themselves in a much more difficult position

Before the pandemic, private renters were already much more likely to be financially insecure than homeowners

Homeowners struggling to make ends meet because of the coronavirus pandemic are to be allowed to stop paying their mortgage until the end of October under plans announced on Friday.

That will come as huge relief to many people in difficulty, but it also further underlines the inferior position that renters find themselves in.

The government has temporarily suspended eviction proceedings, but only until 25 June.

That means that any tenant who has not been able to pay rent is facing mounting bills and a looming deadline after which landlords can begin pursuing them for arrears and handing them eviction notices.

In any case, landlords in the UK – in contrast to those in many other countries – do not have to have a reason to evict a tenant.

“No-fault” evictions mean that tenants on the most common type of renting arrangement, an assured shorthold tenancy, live with the constant insecurity of possibly being kicked out of their home with just two months notice.

The government has extended the notice period to three months during the national emergency.

Unlike homeowners, who have been able to put off their mortgage repayments for up to six months, renters have been given no such security.

The government has advised landlords to show “compassion” towards their tenants, which some undoubtedly have, but many have not.

They can request a three-month rent holiday but the landlord can still demand payment and once the holiday is up they are left with a much larger bill. The government has left it up to both sides to negotiate a repayment plan for the missed payments after the holiday ends.

But those are negotiations in which the landlord will have the upper hand.

Before the pandemic, private renters were already much more likely to be financially insecure than homeowners.

During the pandemic, lower earners, who disproportionately live in rented accommodation, have been more likely to lose their jobs or see a reduction in their income.

All of which adds pressure on the government to act. If comparatively affluent homeowners can be helped, why can’t renters in more precarious situations?

In the interests of fairness, the government may extend the eviction ban until the end of October to align it with the remortgage holiday.

But that does not solve the problem of rent arrears which some people will be unable to pay. Any economic recovery from the deep recession we are now in will need people to have money to spend.

Additional expenditure on rent arguably adds little to the overall economic good and a debt hangover for hundreds of thousands of people who can least afford it would hamper the recovery.

The current crisis has shone a bright light on Britain’s private rented sector, and parts of don’t look very pretty.