Social housing shortage affecting older renters ‘in devastating ways’

More than two in five older private renters in England regularly struggle to pay for food, heating and clothing, new research reveals.

The report from the National Housing Federation (NHF) – the body representing England’s housing associations – says 42% of private tenants aged over 55 (equivalent to 364,479 households) can’t afford essentials.

Growing number of older renters

The number of people aged 55 and above renting privately has soared by more than 70% in the last ten years – increasing at three and a half times the rate of population growth.

Currently, there are 866,870 such households in England.

Other findings

The NHF’s research also shows:

• nearly half (48%) of older private renters are worried about debt
• almost a quarter (23%) have been asked to leave their current or previous home
• more than a third have cut down on seeing friends and family to save money
• over half (52%) would like to retire but can’t afford to

Oldest renters most likely to be on very low incomes

Private renters aged 65 and above are those most likely to be living on very low incomes. Almost half (48%) are in the lowest income bracket in England. This means they’re living on £11,341 a year on average after tax.

They're twice as likely to be in the lowest income bracket as renters aged under 65 and almost twice as likely to rely on benefits to pay their rent.

Broken housing system

Kate Henderson, chief executive at NHF, said the report highlights that a chronic lack of social housing is affecting older people in “devastating ways”.

She continued:

“This exemplifies how broken our housing system has become, that the very people that social housing exists to support – the poorest and most vulnerable in our society – are now living in the least secure, poorest quality and most expensive homes in the private rented sector.”