More than a fifth of private renters fear being asked to leave their home in next six months, Shelter reports

Housing charity also finds that coronavirus pandemic has left just half of private renters feeling safe in their own home

More than a fifth of private renters fear being asked to leave their home in the next six months, according to a new poll commissioned by Shelter.

In a new report Building our way out: investing in social housing to boost the economy and level up the country, Shelter presents findings from a YouGov survey of 5,177 adults carried out between 4 and 7 September 2020 which explored private tenants' experiences since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

With results weighted to be representative of England's population, Shelter reports that - 

• during lockdown, 15 per cent of private renters had some kind of housing maintenance problem that caused them or someone they live with stress;
• only half of private renters say their home has made them feel safe during the pandemic;
• a quarter say their housing situation has had a negative impact on their mental health during lockdown; 
• almost 30 per cent say they would worry about their housing situation if they were forced to go back into lockdown again; and
• more than a fifth fear being asked to leave their home in the next six months.

Recommending a rescue package investing in social housing, Shelter says - 

'Our housing emergency has haunted people living right across the country during the pandemic. Tens of thousands of homeless families have been forced to lockdown in temporary accommodation; told to ‘stay at home’ when they don’t have one. Many more have struggled paying high private rents for squalid homes; told to work from home when they’ve nowhere fit to do it or home school when they’ve not got the space.

Never has it been clearer that so many have been left behind by our housing emergency, and that as we build back from the pandemic we need to level-up housing...

Putting the investment in now will boost our housebuilding capacity and boost the economy whilst delivering urgently needed social rent homes. This is how we build our way out of this crisis. And investment is essential if we are to build back to a better place than before the pandemic.'

For more information, see Only half of private renters feel safe in their home during the pandemic from shelter.org.uk