Private renters ‘hit hardest by coronavirus’

PRIVATE renters are more likely to have fallen behind with housing costs than those with a mortgage since the start of the coronavirus crisis, a new study suggests.

One in eight private renters have fallen behind compared to one in 12 mortgaged home owners, said the Resolution Foundation.

The figures, from a survey of more than 6,000 adults, highlight how the pandemic has exacerbated Britain’s housing divide, said the think tank.

One in five private renters have been furloughed or lost their job since the crisis began, compared to around one-in-seven mortgaged home owners, although home owners are more likely to have had their hours and pay reduced, said the report.

Private renters face higher costs in the first place, with their average pre-crisis housing costs estimated to be 32% of their family’s income, compared to 11% among mortgaged homeowners, said the report.

Almost one-in-four private renters had no savings in the run-up to the crisis, compared to one-in-eight home owners, said the foundation, adding that many people living in private rented accommodation have been forced to cut back on basic spending or, in the case of young people, to move house.

Lindsay Judge, principal research and policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Britain already had a huge housing divide before coronavirus struck.

“People living in private rented accommodation have found it harder to meet their housing costs than homeowners in recent months.”