Quarter of private-renting families slipping into 'bad debt' as they are frequently forced to move

Hundreds of thousands of private renting families paying average of £1,619 in added costs when they move, findings show

The cost of having to pay rents in advance, paying for removal van hires and other requirements that come with moving properties has seen families paying out hundreds — sometimes thousands — of pounds in extra costs each time they move (Getty)

One in four families renting homes in England is falling into hundreds of pounds of “bad debt” due to the cost of moving house, new findings show.

Having to pay letting fees, removal van hires, cleaning costs and other requirements that come with moving properties has seen thousands of families taking out debt in the form of credit cards, overdraft, bank loans or payday loans, according to a report by housing charity Shelter.

A total of 255,944 private renting families took on such debt the last time they moved, with the cost of moving home amounting to an average of £1,619 across England – and reaching £1,707 in London.

The figures show that just 10 per cent of the cost accounted for letting fees, with the rest an accumulation of added costs such as removal van hire, paying double rent and payment for new accomodation in advance.

Shelter has warned that Government plans to ban fees to letting agents in England will not resolve the issue, and the charity is calling for the introduction of longer and more stable contracts for renting tenants.

The findings, based on a YouGov survey of 3,981 private renters in England, also shows that one in five private renting families – or 322,120 – have moved home three or more times in the past five years.

Around one in four private renters have children in their household, of which over half have moved between privately rented homes, according to Shelter.

One private renter, named only as Tracy, has had to move six times in the past seven years with her two children, aged five and seven, and said the cost of constantly having to move home has become a significant burden for her.

“When you add up things like removal vans and new furniture, the cost of having to move home all the time really starts to pile up. It seems that unless you have loads of savings, taking on debt from credit cards is pretty much the only way to cover it – you just don’t have a choice,” she said.

“Having to move home every year or so makes it hard enough for me and my family, without also having to take on these debts which just get bigger and bigger and pile on even more pressure.

“If I could get a five-year tenancy it would make a massive difference – I could plan ahead, save money and get a grip on these debts. Not to mention the joy it’d give me and my family to actually have a home of our own for longer than a few months.”

Another private renter, named only as Emma, said having to keep moving home has driven her and her family further and further into credit card debt.

The teacher trainee, who rents in Folkestone with her husband and three children, said: “The first few times we moved we could borrow from family to cover the costs, but we have had to move so often that we now have to use credit cards and loans,” she said.

“Obviously, unlike with family and friends, these loans have fees and interest attached that can be really hard to pay back. Currently we have about £15,000 in debt because we’re having to move home every one or two years.

“About four years ago we took out one lower interest bank loan to try and pay all these debts off, but because we’ve had to carry on moving home, the costs have racked up and again we are back to square one.”

It comes after an analysis by The Independent revealed that the number of private renters being made homeless has more than trebled under the Conservative Government, with thousands of renters being deemed officially homeless by local councils each month after being evicted by private landlords and struggling to pay rents.

Official figures show a huge rise in people becoming homeless at the end of assured short hold tenancies (ASTs) – the most common agreement used by private landlords – since 2010, exposing the increasing unaffordability and instability of the private rental market.

Polly Neate, Shelter chief executive, said: “It’s heart-breaking that families are being forced into unaffordable debt just to cover all the costs of moving house so frequently, thanks to short unstable contracts.

“We speak to parents every day who want nothing more than to have control over their lives, and provide stability – both financially and in a settled home – for their children, but instead are constantly forced into packing up and moving on.

“The Government can change all this by updating laws to offer renters longer and more stable contracts, giving them and their children a secure place to call home and a brighter future.”

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman, said: “Everyone deserves a safe, secure place to live including those renting. That’s why we’re banning letting fees for tenants to reduce costs of moving and have produced a model tenancy agreement to support those who want a longer, more stable agreement.

“We’ve also been working with the National Housing Federation and British Property Federation to get their members to offer ‘family-friendly’ tenancies of three years or more for purpose built rental homes.

“We know that more needs to be done to boost home building, which is why we’ve doubled the housing budget to £8 billion and putting into action the largest affordable housing programme for 40 years.”