What the Renters' Rights Bill means for older renters
The Renters' Rights Bill aims to improve protections for renters in England's private rented sector. Today, on International Tenant's Day, our Programme Manager for Homes, Nazia Azad, discusses the impact it will have on older renters.
3 min read
The Renters’ Rights Bill has recently passed through the House of Lords and is currently awaits Royal Assent. This landmark legislation is set to bring significant changes for renters across the country. But what exactly do these reforms involve, and how will they impact people who rent their homes?
The private rented sector (PRS) is now the second largest housing tenure in England and is home to nearly one in four (19%) English homes.
The PRS now houses more women, racially marginalised people, and older renters than ever before. The number of people aged 50 and over renting privately doubled between 2001 and 2021, with numbers expected to rise further.
These numbers are even higher for people aged 50 and over from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic communities who are more likely to be private renters than those with a White British background.
Renting a home means higher levels of financial insecurity, and our State of Ageing report reveals that older private renters spend almost half of their income on rent, with more than one in five older female renters having less than £100 left per month after paying rent.
More than one in three (37%) people of pension age in the private rented sector are living in relative poverty.
Older private renters are likely to live in poor-quality homes, which can have severe consequences for their health and wellbeing.
Almost two in five (38%) privately rented homes headed by someone aged 75 and over are defined as non-decent, compared to up to one in five (22-26%) privately rented homes headed by someone aged 74 and younger.
We also see the highest prevalence of condensation, damp, and mould in households headed by people aged 50 and over.
With older people and babies at the greatest risk of complications from respiratory illnesses, it is imperative that we address these issues in privately rented homes to protect people’s health.
For disabled people in privately rented homes, access to essential adaptations is limited. Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) offer one-off funding to make homes more accessible and support independent living. However, private renters are the least likely to benefit — just 6% of recipients rent privately, compared with 65% who are homeowners.
The combination of our population ageing and the increasing number of Disabled people in the country, means that many renters could be cut off from adaptions which could transform their quality of life.
It is clear from the ever-growing private rental landscape that the Renters’ Rights Bill is needed, and we welcome the government enshrining these protections in law.
The Renters Rights Bill will introduce the following changes:
- Landlords will now have to give a reason to evict tenants, following the removal of section 21 – also known as no fault eviction – notices
- Landlords will not be able to ask for more than one month’s rent in advance
- Renters will have to give two months' notice if they want to end their tenancy, as tenancies will no longer be fixed term
- Landlords will have to give at least two month’s warning of rent increase, which tenants may challenge with a tribunal
Strengthening renters’ rights is vital, but does the bill go far enough? Has it addressed the needs of an ageing and increasingly disabled population? And has it offered enough protection against unfair evictions?
We welcome these long-overdue reforms, but true progress means ensuring no one is left behind — especially older, disabled, and racially marginalised renters.