Rent Freedom Day: MPs must tackle renter's problems

MPs to be lobbied about rental issues

Organisations including Generation Rent, Shelter and the National Union of Students will today be lobbying MPs about rental issues as part of 'Rent Freedom Day'

The idea is to gather renters together in a mass lobby of Parliament, to demonstrate to MPs that private renting is not working in the interests of the nearly 10 million people who rent their homes across the UK.

This event should not be confused with Rental Freedom Day, which is the date marking tenants’ ‘freedom’ from their rent payments, meaning that they’ve worked enough to cover their payments for the whole year. Last year that fell on Monday 12th May, or the 132nd day of the year.

However, the organisers do still want to draw attention to the cost of renting, saying that renters are currently spending an average of two days' wages every week on rent.

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Private renting

The private renting sector has become increasingly notorious, with stories of rip-off agents, revolting living conditions, and tenants being evicted for making legitimate complaints to their landlords, grabbing headlines.

According to Shelter, 60,000 families were threatened with evictions in 2014, for complaining about the state of their homes.

The standard contract drawn up for most tenancies is known as an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, and this lasts for just six or twelve months. This means that a tenant can never be quite sure if they will have to move at the end of the contract, the rent will increase, or if the landlord will agree to either another fixed term or allow the continuation of their contract as a Statutory Periodic Tenancy where the same terms apply as before.

Not all landlords are bad at what they do, and take problems seriously. But other tenants are suffering at the hands of negligent ones, while paying out a large proportion of their monthly income.

And the cost is a big issue for everybody – even if your landlord does a good job of looking after the property, is there when you need them, and does everything by the book, you could still be paying so much in rent that you struggle to ever save money towards a place of your own.

The aim of Rent Freedom Day

Dan Wilson Craw of Generation Rent told lovemoney.com that with the General Election coming up, MPs need to offer something serious to private renters, as they now make up such a large proportion of our electorate.

He explained that while problems such as insecurity of tenure and poor living conditions are perhaps the most well-known in London, there are affordability issues throughout the country. “There are issues with disrepair, letting agent fees… it’s most acute in London, but it’s having an impact everywhere,” he said.

There will be a series of meetings tomorrow between MPs and campaigners, with renters encouraged to get in touch with their MP and ask if they can count on action being taken. This might include increased tenancy lengths as standard, caps on letting agents’ fees, or the ability to complain without fear of being evicted.

“Essentially, it’s the big chance for private renters to influence the election and make their voices heard before the politicians start turning their attention elsewhere,” he concludes.

Rent Freedom Day events will also include workshops and talks where people can learn about their renting rights and hear the main parties debate the housing crisis.

New proposals

Generation Rent last year launched a Renters’ Manifesto, detailing proposals of what it would like to have introduced to improve the rental market.

These measures include the right to a five-year tenancy, the professionalisation of landlords and letting agents, and a new Government department which will specifically focus on housing. A national register of landlords would help to weed out rogue landlords, it says, while letting agents should be officially licensed to bring them into line with estate agents.

It also proposes that a ‘secondary’ housing market is created. The Government, it says, should build houses that can only be sold on for a limited increase in price. This would deter speculators and help people get onto the housing ladder.

It estimates that 10,000 homes could be built on state-owned land for £1 billion, and the proceeds of sales as people moved up the ladder could finance the growth of this house-building initiative.

Will you be contacting your MP about rental issues? What are the biggest problems for renters today? Let us know your views in the comments box below.

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