Coronavirus: ‘Worrying number’ of renters still falling through gaps in government’s support schemes, Shelter warns

Charity says it has received tens of thousands of calls to emergency helpline during lockdown

A “worrying number” of people are still falling through gaps in the government’s financial support schemes for the coronavirus pandemic, a major housing charity has warned.

Shelter said it had received more than 53,000 calls to its emergency helpline since the start of lockdown in March amid concerns renters could lose their homes during the crisis.

It added that the largest number of calls to the helpline came from private renters with a standard assured shorthold tenancy, with 41 per cent of them saying they were at risk of homelessness.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said the government’s schemes had “undoubtedly” helped many people during the Covid-19 crisis but warned some were still without adequate support.

“Not everyone is protected by the temporary evictions ban, including lodgers, who can still be asked to leave if they can’t pay their rent. And even if someone is covered by the ban, it won’t stop them racking up serious debts if they’ve already lost their job,” Ms Neate said.

“We know from our services that thousands of renters are in this situation. Many are turning to Universal Credit and quickly discovering the levels are simply too low to pay the rent and safeguard their home.”

One of those renters was Sam Pinnock, a self-employed chef from Essex whose work dried up due to restrictions introduced to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Mr Pinnock worked at a street-food stall that was forced to close in March and he has had no work since the lockdown began.

This forced him onto Universal Credit, which he said did not provide enough money to cover essentials after his £120 a week rent.

“During the coronavirus, the government are giving me £650 [a month] — after my rent, that’s not buying food, that’s not paying any bills,” he said.

“After that, I’m left with £30 a week.”

Mr Pinnock added that he had come to an agreement with his landlord to do odd jobs around the house to make up for rent he could not pay.

Joanna Porter, a 43-year-old supply teacher and single parent from Gloucestershire, was another renter who contacted Shelter for help after she was left without work during lockdown.

Ms Porter found she was only partially covered by the furlough scheme for the two agencies she had worked for, leaving her with £200 a week compared to her normal weekly income of £600.

She said she was receiving Universal Credit that just about covered food bills and rent, but added she was disappointed that the government’s support schemes had not done more to protect agency workers.

“Schools like a lot of employers in the last five or six years are becoming a lot more cut-throat because of the job market and because of the way that employment law has changed,” Ms Porter said.

“The government should have thought about all this … it didn’t design the system in a way that delivered because it gave far too much leeway for unscrupulous schools and agencies to basically make up the rules as they go along.”

Ms Neate added that people paying average rents were facing “huge shortfalls” and were at serious risk of becoming homeless during the crisis if support was not increased.

“Without more support, they face the very real prospect of being tipped into homelessness with all the trauma that brings,” the Shelter chief executive said.

“To prevent this suffering and give people a fighting chance, the government must increase housing benefit now to cover average rents and lift the benefit cap.”

In response to Shelter's comments, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told The Independent that the government had taken "unprecedented action to support renters during the pandemic", citing protection from evictions until 23 August as an example.

"The government is helping prevent people getting into financial hardship by paying up to 80 per cent of their wages, increasing the amount available to welfare claimants and raising the Local Housing Allowance," the spokesperson said.

"We continue to urge any tenants who may be experiencing problems to contact their landlord at the earliest opportunity and for parties to agree a workable way forward."