Millions of working renters are just one pay packet away from losing their home.
With little or no savings to fall back on and living from one pay cheque to the next almost half of private tenants, three million people, could not afford to pay their rent for more than one month if they lost their job.
Research from housing charity Shelter reveals the situation is particularly bleak for working families with children as a job loss would leave more than half a million of these families immediately unable to pay their rent and at risk of ending up on the street.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “By allowing the number of genuinely affordable social homes to plummet, politicians have super-charged our housing emergency.”
This snapshot of the life for struggling renters chimes with government figures that show two-thirds of renting households have no savings at all - not surprising when they spend on average over two-fifths of their monthly income on housing costs.
Polly Neate added: “Millions of working people are now caught in an endless cycle of paying grossly expensive private rents they can barely afford – with all the insecurity that brings.
"Many are terrified that even a short-term dip in income could result in them losing their home for good.”
