It is seen as a last resort for those who can't afford to buy and aren't needy enough, or just too far down the lengthy waiting list, for social housing. There are good reasons for this perception. According to the last English House Condition Survey, 45% of private rented home fail to meet the Decent Homes standard. Compare that to social and owner-occupied homes:
This survey also reveals that privately rented homes have the highest incidence of serious hazards, damp problems and need for urgent repairs. Noticing a pattern?
Closer to home, 10.7% of Cambridge's privately rented stock is classified as unfit for human habitation. I certainly wouldn't recommend the last place I lived in as a residence suitable for any mammal. Amphibians, yes.
13% of UK households were private renters in 2008, and the recession is increasing this. Owner-occupation is falling as new mortgages are harder to get and unemployment increases arrears amongst existing loans. Geographically, private renting is more popular in economically successful areas with high house prices. London and Cambridge are the examples that I'm familiar with; both have more than 20% of households renting privately. Although the sector is diverse, it's fairly youthful. The proportion of 25-29 year olds in private rented accommodation has nearly doubled over the past 14 years, from 19 per cent in 1993 to 36 per cent in 2007.
What are the coalition's policies on private renting?
Although the government don't seem to care about housing as a whole, they go out their way to be particularly uncaring about private tenants. To wit, No More Red Tape for Private Landlords.
Quote from our Housing Minister:
With the vast majority of England's three million private tenants happy with the service they receive, I am satisfied that the current system strikes the right balance between the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords.
I could not disagree more. This announcement rejects a review into the sector, which recommended more regulation. What particularly astounds me is that even landlords groups welcomed the review and the light touch regulation proposed.
The private rental sector includes the most vulnerable households, is almost entirely unregulated, and contains much of the worst quality, most dangerous housing in the country. Yet its apparently burdened with red tape!
Another recent release from CLG on this topic gave More power to councils to solve local problems with shared houses.
The implication here is that, as a house-sharer, I am automatically a social problem. Thank you, Mr. Shapps. I'm sure my household of professional females is bringing the neighbourhood right down.
This is a classic example of trying to solve the wrong problem. Rather than regulating shared houses, think about why they exist in the first place. Because other options are unaffordable. And why are they rented on short leases? Because tenants are not given any other choice. An assured shorthold tenancy of six months is what you are given when you rent a property. Take it or leave it. And considering the poor quality of much rental property, is it any wonder that a lot of people move on once the lease is up?
I can't help thinking that if the allegedly needless red tape dismissed in the first announcement was introduced, the seemingly needful red tape in the second announcement would not need to be!
It will not surprise you to learn that my personal experiences of private renting have not been positive.
I've lived in an informally sublet room found on gumtree, when I needed somewhere to live quickly in order to start a new job. I had no written contract and no right to ask for one. My rent was increased without notice and I had no way to challenge it. When I moved out, one of my housemates kept my security deposit. Repeated requests resulted in some of it being sent, but the rest was deducted because another housemate had apparently left without paying his rent. That's not what a security deposit is for, and moreover my housemate had given me no reason to assume that their story was even true. My attempts to get the remaining amount (several hundred pounds) back were fruitless, as the ex-housemate had not provided a forwarding address. Without that, according the Citizens Advice Bureau, there was absolutely nothing I could do.
I've lived in a shared house managed by the most incompetent rental agency in the world. They were unable to perform even the most elementary repairs. A leaky shower made the whole house damp, leaving my housemates & I constantly prey to colds and infections. It was still not fixed after three years. When the gas boiler depressurised I was told to deal with it myself, despite the manual saying 'consult a qualified engineer'. The fridge-freezer broke and we were without a replacement for a month. There is no legal recourse in these situations. Moreover, once the standard 6 month assured shorthold tenancy ends, the rental agency has the right to give you notice to leave at any time with no need for a reason. They abused this power punitively in response to questions on seemingly unfair contractual terms.
The most secure I have ever felt whilst renting was when I shared a flat owned by a friend, and that was because I knew where her parents lived in case she ran off with my money. Even in better rental situations, there is still a huge sense of insecurity, no freedom to change anything about your home, and many responsibilities with few rights in return.
I am also well aware that my position is a privileged one. I've got a job and can now afford to rent in a more formal way. The most vulnerable private renters rely on housing benefit and have kids to support.
What effects will the Age of Austerity have on the private rented sector?
Housing ownership and social housing are going to get less accessible, as I will describe in subsequent posts. This will push more people into private rental and drive up rents. With no sign of regulation and rising demand, quality is likely to deteriorate and overcrowding increase. This will be worst in areas that already have tight rental markets, like Cambridge and London. It's bad, and looks like it isn't going to get any better.
I will eventually finish my barrage of criticism and start suggesting some possible solutions to these problems, incidentally. Although the situation is pretty dire, it's not hopeless. For more commentary on the exciting experience of being a private tenant in the UK, I thoroughly recommend Rentergirl's blog.
In other news, the latest earth-shattering announcement from CLG: The internet age will help end the town hall 'non-job'. Yes ladies and gentlemen, in this new age of coalition government, Local Authorities will have to post their job vacancies on this innovation called the internet. Vive la revolution!
...Except Local Authorities are all doing this already - that's how I found my job more than two years ago. Moreover, given the scale of cuts, most won't be doing any recruiting until about 2018. I think Eric Pickles MP may have published a piece from the Taxpayer's Alliance by mistake. If he's trying to make a serious point about there being unnecessary jobs within local government, he's doing it wrong.
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