Number of families in overcrowded private-rented housing almost doubles in 10 years, figures show
Shortage of affordable housing forcing families into homes that are too small for them, campaigners warn
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Your support makes all the difference.The number of households living in overcrowded private-rented housing has almost doubled in the past decade, new figures show.
Government data reveals 283,000 households who rent privately are living in overcrowded conditions, an increase of 95 per cent in the last ten years and up by 9 per cent – or 22,000 households – in the last year alone.
Campaigners said it highlighted how the shortage of affordable housing was forcing families into homes that were too small for them because they were unable to afford to rent anywhere bigger.
More than 4.5 million households rent their home from a private landlord, which works out as just over 11 million people – a rise of 48 per cent (1.49 million households) over the last ten years, the figures show.
One in four families with children in England now rent privately – 84 per cent more than ten years ago – while private renters spend an average of 40 per cent of their income on rent – more than any other tenure.
The number of younger home-owners has meanwhile fallen dramatically since 2010, with over 800,000 fewer households under 45 now owning their own home.
Shadow housing secretary John Healey said ministers had failed to build the council and social homes needed or give renters the rights they deserve.
“The dreadful plight of private renters stuck in overcrowded homes has ballooned over the last decade. At the same time Conservative ministers have made deep cuts to funding for new council and social homes which could provide a way out for renters stuck in unsuitable housing," he added.
It comes as a growing number of families are falling homeless in England, with a household now found to be without a home every four minutes – which charities blame largely on a lack of affordable homes and “cripplingly expensive” private rents.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “As the supply of new social homes grinds to a halt, we’ve seen an explosion in the number of people living in overcrowded private rentals.
“More and more families are crammed like sardines into homes that are too small for them because they can’t afford to rent anywhere bigger.
“The odds are stacked against struggling families. What this country desperately needs is an alternative to private renting, which is why Shelter is urging the government to build a new generation of genuinely affordable social homes."
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