Crisis responds to announcement of measures to help protect private renters from rogue landlords
01.10.2017
Today at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, the Communities Minister Sajid Javid announced measures to help protect private renters from rogue landlords. In response, Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis said:
“Its great to see the Government addressing issues faced by renters everyday, but we urgently need to see renting made more affordable for people in the most vulnerable situations - those who have no place to call home.
“As social housing moves further out of reach for many, renting privately is often the only option for the thousands of people trying to escape homelessness everyday.
“But huge deposits, weeks of rent required in advance, and high moving costs mean that without support, renting is beyond unaffordable for most homeless people. And landlords know this: a recent survey of private landlords for Crisis found that eight in ten consider it too financially risky to rent to someone who is homeless.
“That’s why we’re calling on the Government to fund local Help to Rent projects and to create and underwrite a national rent deposit guarantee to help homeless people rent. The Government already helps first-time buyers struggling for a deposit – it’s time to extend this help to those who need it most.”
ENDS
For more information, read Crisis' report on improving access to renting for homeless people here.
Contact: The media team on 07973 372587 or cristina.pittelli@crisis.org.uk