A prominent personal finance analyst says renters in the private sector are amongst the most badly hit by the cost of living crisis. 

Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, cites Office for National Statistics figures showing 16m people having cut back on food and essentials, including 51 per cent of renters.

She says: “These are truly desperate times, and millions of people have been forced to take desperate measures. While all of us are facing the pain of rising prices, it’s those on lower incomes, renters, people with disabilities and those in the most deprived areas that are facing impossible challenges.”

She claims renters are less likely to have wiggle room in their budget to begin with because they spend 31 per cent of their income putting a roof over their head, compared to mortgagees who spend 18 per cent.

“They’re also being hit harder by rising prices, especially by hikes in rents. [In ONS studies] renters were twice as likely to say their housing costs were rising (33 per cent compared to 16 per cent of those with a mortgage).

“It means the ONS figures show that around half of renters have cut back on food and essentials – compared to 33 per cent of those with a mortgage and 27 per cent of those who own outright.  

“They’re four times as likely to be behind on their energy bills than those paying a mortgage (eight per cent against two per cent). And they’re more than four times as likely to be behind on their housing costs (four per cent against under one per cent). 

“They’re also more likely to be borrowing more – 29 per cent compared with 19 per cent overall. And they have less to fall back on too: 50 per cent of renters couldn’t afford a £850 expense out of the blue, compared with 29 per cent overall.”

And she concludes: “Unfortunately, things are only going to get worse … With less to fall back on, they’re more likely to wipe out any lockdown savings and build up even more in debt and arrears.”