More than 800,000 households renting a home are worried about being evicted in the next few months, new research has suggested.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said 400,000 have already been served with an eviction notice or told they may be evicted.
A ban on evictions in England ends today, leading to warnings from housing campaigners that tenants face a wave of proceedings as bailiffs are allowed to resume using court orders for repossession.
JRF said the temporary ban on bailiff-enforced evictions introduced in March 2020 – and extended several times since – has provided much-needed security to renters during the pandemic.
Its survey of more than 10,000 households suggested “clear warning signs” of a spike in evictions and homelessness as the ban lifts, the report said.
Around 400,000 are expecting to be evicted and a further 450,000 households are in arrears with rent, JRF said.
Rachelle Earwaker, of JRF, said: “For the 450,000 families locked in rent debt, the prospect of securing a mortgage is simply unimaginable and, worse still, many will now struggle to secure a new home in the private rented sector just as the eviction ban ends.
“High levels of arrears are restricting families’ ability to pay the bills and forcing many to rely on hidden borrowing.
“This is not only deeply unjust, it is also economically naive and risks hampering our economic recovery, which is reliant on household spending increasing as society continues to reopen.
“The Government’s decision to provide a generous tax break to wealthier homeowners through the stamp duty holiday while failing to protect renters points to a worrying two-tier recovery in which those who were prospering prior to the pandemic will continue to do so while those who have been hit hard will sink even further behind.
“The cost of boosting support to tackle rent arrears is a fraction of the cost of the stamp duty holiday.”
