Majority of private renters missing out on a social home

New research by Shelter has shown that 91 per cent of private renters who need a social home are unable to get one and are left on waiting lists, often for years on end.

The charity’s analysis of the latest government data shows there were nearly 500,000 privately renting households on council waiting lists last year, but fewer than 43,000 private renters moved into a social rent home during that same period.

The problem stems from decades of failure to build new social homes – just 6,434 social rent homes were delivered last year, but 21,500 were lost through sales, conversions and demolitions. Consequently, people have become effectively trapped in expensive private renting.

A YouGov study for Shelter shows that 21 per cent of private renters (1.8 million people) are constantly struggling or falling behind with their rent. Some of the extreme lengths parents are going to in order to keep on top of housing costs, include: 24 per cent cutting back on food (equivalent to over 600,000 parents); 18 per cent cutting back on heating their home (equivalent to more than 450,000 parents); and 14 per cent skipping meals completely (equivalent to 350,000 parents).

With a General Election just around the corner, Shelter is making a fresh call for every political party to invest in the new social housing this country desperately needs. This means a commitment to deliver at least 90,000 social homes a year over the course of the next parliament to ensure everyone has a stable home they can afford to live in.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “When nine in 10 private renters who need a social home aren’t getting one, alarm bells should be ringing. But when this means parents are forced to skip meals just to pay their rent then clearly, we need to take action now. Decades of failure to build social housing has created a nightmare scenario with people trapped in private renting all over the country. On top of living on the breadline, far too many are facing the threat of eviction or battling poor conditions.

“To save struggling renters from a lifetime of instability, social housing must be at the heart of every party’s manifesto during the election. We are calling on all parties to commit to delivering at least 90,000 social rent homes a year over the next parliament, to give everyone in this country a fighting chance of a stable home.”