Almost half of private renters in England are living in homes that are cold, damp or mouldy, even in the summer, according to new figures.
A survey by Citizens Advice found 45% of private renters are currently experiencing damp, mould or excessive cold in their home.
And the research found 48% of these households have been living with the disrepair for more than a year.
The charity’s data showed private renters on low wages were expected to spend 53% of their income on energy and housing costs this year – compared with 46% for those living in social housing and 40% for those who own their homes.
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Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: “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.”
Unaffordability and poor quality housing in the private rental sector was made worse by tenants’ lack of protection and security, the survey found.
Citizens Advice said it was helping almost 100 people a day with section 21 “no-fault” evictions.
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Dame Clare added: “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.”
Last week, the King’s Speech included a promise that Labour would “take action where the previous government has failed” on protections for renters – including ending no-fault evictions.
Meanwhile, property website Rightmove has said the average rent being asked outside London has hit a new record of £1,314 per month.
It also claimed each property was typically receiving 17 inquiries from prospective tenants.
A year ago, the average monthly advertised rent across Britain, excluding London, was £1,231, Rightmove said.
Advertised rents in London have also risen to a record of £2,661, up from £2,567 a year earlier.
Despite overall rental supply slowly improving from last year, the number of available properties is still below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, Rightmove said.
Its latest rental figures cover the second quarter of 2024.