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Poor conditions for older renters ‘need to be addressed’

Better standards of private rented homes are needed to accommodate the growing number of people living in the private rented sector, according to Peter Girling, chairman at Girlings Retirement Rentals.

Girling is concerned about the findings from a recent report published by Age UK, which found that many older tenants in the PRS are currently being forced to live in ‘awful conditions’ and warned that unless more is done to help ‘vulnerable’ renters, a growing number of people will find themselves also falling victim to slum landlords and forced to live in ‘squalor and distress’.

Girling commented, “Age UK has uncovered a distressing and grim picture of renting in some areas of the private sector. These problems need to be addressed particularly given the rising number of older renters coming into the sector who may be vulnerable.”

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Households aged 65-plus currently account for around 10% of all those living in the PRS, but their numbers are rapidly growing, as reflected by a recent report from Girlings Retirement Rentals.

A separate survey by the National Landlords Association also found that that the number of retired people in the UK moving into the PRS has increased by 200,000 over the last four years and one estimate is that a third of over-60s could be living in private rented accommodation by 2040.

“Whilst renting a property in later life is growing in popularity, people need the assurance of good quality accommodation and assured tenancies to give them peace of mind they can remain in their rental property for life if they choose – this is really essential for older people and that they are also not subject to rental price hikes at a landlord’s whim,” Girling added. 

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