Older Renters’ group takes up Generation Rent’s demands

A charity representing older people has taken up almost all of the key demands of activist group Generation Rent.

Independent Age says it wants the swift implementation of the Renters Reform Bill including the abolition of Section 21 eviction powers, an end to discriminating against tenants receiving benefits, longer notice periods, and applying the social housing Decent Homes Standard to the private rental sector too.

It also wants the landlord database which is a central part of the Bill to be made available to older renters who are not online - although Independent Age does not explain how this could happen.

A new report from the charity claims that older private renters in England are a rapidly growing group, having increased by 55% over the last decade.

It claims they are often overlooked and not well served by the current rental market. Many are on a low income, with almost two in five of UK older private renters in relative poverty after housing costs.

The charity has found that many older private renters “are in the midst of a housing crisis, hit with unaffordable rent increases, the fear of being evicted at any time despite not being at fault and forced to accept poor-quality homes that are hazardous to their health.” 

Although the charity says that no rental system perfectly meets the needs of older private renters, it suggests that learning from successful examples of policy and practice abroad, and closer to home, could help the UK Government improve some of the problems older renters living on a low-income face. 

Independent Age advocates: 

Security: “The average length of tenancy is Germany is 11 years, compared with just 2.5 years in England. This is largely due to German tenancies being indefinite, not fixed term, and with limited reasons why a tenant can be evicted. Scotland effectively banned fixed term tenancies in 2017, making it easier for people to stay in their homes for longer. Older renters in England need greater protections from evictions, to enable them to ‘age in place’ which is widely agreed to lead to the best mental and physical health outcomes.”

Threat of homelessness: “In 2022/23, the number of people in England aged 65 and over who were homeless or threatened with homelessness was about 12,000. In France, citizens have more rights that help them get housing if at risk of homelessness or currently without a home. Stats show that this had led to more than 100,000 French households being rehoused between 2007 and 2016.”

Affordability: “Across the UK, rents have risen 10.4% in the year up to April 2023. This is especially difficult for those on a low, fixed income to absorb, and polling by Independent Age showed that 45% of older private in England felt anxious about being able to afford their rent. Ireland has designated ‘Rent Pressure Zones’ – these are areas where rents are highest and rising. In these 56 zones, rents cannot be increased by more than inflation, or by more than 2%. Around 71% of private renters aged 45 or over live in a Rent Pressure Zone. The policy has relieved some of the strain of rent increases for those older people on fixed incomes, limiting the gap between rent increases and the uprating of benefits that make up many people’s income. The Scottish Parliament has introduced a similar temporary rent cap initiative, but more long-term security is needed.”

Discrimination: “In England, it is legal for landlords and estate agents to place blanket bans on those in receipt of benefits. Currently, almost half of older private renters are on Housing Benefit. For private renters over 70, this rises to over three quarters (77%). In Washington DC, housing discrimination across several characteristics is prohibited, including discrimination based on the source of income. The policy better protects those on benefits and financial entitlements.”

Evictions: Independent Age says that it has spoken to multiple older private renters "who fear asking for repairs could risk them being subject to a ‘revenge eviction’. This sometimes leads to older renters living in substandard accommodation and means the landlord has a disproportionate amount of control over the tenancy. Since 2018, Portugal has had a law in place protecting vulnerable tenants from eviction who have been living in their home for at least 15 years - including those aged 65 and over, or with an advanced level of disability. This has been lauded as a measure that protects tenants who may be particularly susceptible to a power imbalance between their landlord. In Wales, the period of notice given after a tenant is served a no-fault eviction is six months, as opposed to England’s two. Although Independent Age want no-fault evictions banned outright, it says that an increase in the amount of notice given is a positive.”

Understanding older private renters: Independent Age says that “the needs of older private renters across the UK are poorly understood and often not met by policy makers. New Zealand leads the way in understanding this group’s needs, with multiple sustained research projects undertaken by universities, public health bodies and thinktanks, some of which has been used to improve the situation of older renters. For example, Kāinga Ora – a public housing landlord – has aligned its accessibility policy, which aims to help people ‘age in place’ independently to The Better Later Life Strategy launch by New Zealand’s Office for Seniors.”

The charity chief executive Joanna Elson says: “Many of the older private renters we speak to live in a constant state of anxiety, worried about eviction, unaffordable rent and asking their landlord for repairs. It’s clear that England is lagging behind many other countries in protecting tenants in later life. While nowhere in the world is perfect, there is plenty the UK Government can learn from across the globe, and even from our neighbours who make up the rest of the UK, to better protect the rapidly growing number of people renting in later life.

“The good news is that many of the solutions our new report has looked into to better protect private renters of all ages are included in the currently proposed Renters Reform Bill. This has the potential to protect renters from unfair evictions, end blanket discrimination against those on income related benefits and redress the imbalance between tenants and landlords What we must see now is the Bill being passed in full as soon as possible. Passing this is the first step in protecting renters of all ages.”

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