Millions worried about rent over winter as government urged to reinstate eviction ban

‘Without action we could see a wave of evictions and a surge in homelessness over the winter,’ non-profit warns

Approximately 80,000 households in the private sector and 125,000 households in the social sector were found by the study to have arrears of more than £1,000 (PA)

Some  2.5 million households across the UK are worried about paying their rent over the next three months, a survey has suggested, with hundreds of thousands thought to be at risk of eviction.

Polling conducted by poverty non-profit the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) found the equivalent of 700,000 renters across the UK were already in arrears while 350,000 were facing the possibility of being kicked out of their home.

The study found many households were building up “unmanageable amounts” of unpaid rent, with 1.3 million households in the private sector and 1.2 in social housing thought to be worried about covering the cost of housing over the winter.

About 19 per cent of respondents said they were in arrears with household bills or council tax - representing some 1.7 million renters.

And approximately 80,000 households in the private sector and 125,000 households in the social sector were found to have arrears of more than £1,000, according to the study.

The JRF warned the total arrears across the country could add up to more than £400m across England and Wales alone - while the study found one in four private renters and two-thirds of social renters had less than £500 of savings to fall back on.

“Millions of people are anxious about paying the rent over winter, having run down their limited savings, reduced their spending and borrowed from friends, family or the bank”, the foundation’s director Helen Barnard said.

The research - based on a survey of 10,719 adults including 2,989 renters between 20 and 27 October - also found a figure equivalent to 350,000 renting households had discussed eviction with their landlord.

The charity has now urged the government to bring back the eviction ban instituted in the first nationwide coronavirus lockdown to protect people at risk of losing their homes during the ongoing health and economic crisis gripping the country.

“The worrying number of households already in arrears shows renters are running out of options”, Ms Barnard added. “Without action we could see a wave of evictions and a surge in homelessness over the winter.”