Citizens Advice has made further criticisms of the private rental sector and landlords.

At the start of the year a spokesperson accused private landlords of serving Section 21 notices on tenants to avoid doing repairs, branding them “retaliatory evictions.”

Now it claims that 45% of private renters in England are currently experiencing damp, mould or excessive cold in their home, and half of them have been living with these issues for over a year. 

The charity’s survey of 2,015 people also suggests that private renters are badly hit by what it calls :a generational decline in living standards” and are forced to pay skyrocketing sums despite poor housing conditions. 

Private renters on a low income are expected to spend 53% of their income on energy and housing costs this year, according to the charity’s analysis. That’s compared with 46% of those living in social housing and 40% for those who own their homes.

The charity claims this is “pushing private renters to breaking point” with a third of renters in England having to borrow money to cover their rent, and 17% going without heating, hot water, or electricity to do so.

The charity also claims that “renters live with the constant threat of losing their home … [and] running the risk of receiving a retaliatory eviction when they do speak up.”

It claims to handle almost 100 people a day with Section 21 evictions. 

The charity wants the new government to permanently link financial support for renters to real rent prices by matching Local Housing Allowance to the cheapest 30% of rents in an area; to bring in “strong legislation, as promised” including a watertight ban of Section 21 evictions” and to insist that landlords improve the energy efficiency of their properties by bringing them up to a minimum of EPC C.

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, says: “A warm, safe home, free of damp and mould should be a fundamental right. Yet private renters are paying through the roof for increasingly decrepit housing which eats up their hard-earned cash and puts their health at risk.

“To make matters worse, renters have little power and live with the constant threat of eviction hanging over their heads. The government must follow through on its promises and improve the lives of private renters. This means raising the quality of privately rented housing, tackling runaway rents, and bringing in a watertight ban of section 21 evictions so renters aren’t afraid to challenge poor conditions.”