The activist group Generation Rent has teamed up with an organisation called the National Survivor User Network to claim that nine in 10 tenants say private renting negatively affects their mental health. 

In a report – based on 814 examples – the organisations go on to claim that 40% of tenants say renting privately has impacted their physical health; and that over three quarters worry about the rent each month and almost half worry about this “a lot”.

Additionally, over four in five private renters worry about being evicted and “overwhelmingly renters felt stressed when reporting repairs to their landlord or letting agent, with 88.1% reporting so.” Around half of all respondents stated that a landlord or letting agent had behaved in a way towards them that made them feel physically or psychologically unsafe.

The report also claims that those tenants most likely to bear the brunt of mental health issues were the disabled, women, migrants, LGBTQ+ people and what Generation Rent calls “people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds.”

A statement from Generation Rent says: “Until people are granted true security in their homes, the spiralling cost of private rents are addressed, and the quality of privately rented homes are improved, this will continue to be so. Fundamental changes are absolutely necessary if we are to make private renting fit for purpose for the millions of people and families living in these homes.”

The activists link this to the Renters Rights Bill, which has its second reading in the House of Commons today.

They say that to help tenants the Bill must include “an end to Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, including Section 21 ‘by the backdoor‘“ along with the introduction of indefinite tenancies and longer notice periods; an introduction of cash help for tenants in “landlord intention” evictions; a private landlord register in England; and restrictions on rent increases, to prevent landlords from pricing tenants out of their homes.