Evidence

Some 1.6 million Disabled people live in Greater London. Demand for accessible homes far outstrips supply, across all tenures. The shortage of genuinely affordable housing is particularly acute, affecting Disabled people disproportionately. There are 200,000 households in London wherein a Disabled person needs adaptations for their home to be accessible. This report uses local and national data, surveys and interviews with Deaf and Disabled people, as well as interviews with local authorities’ planning and housing teams, to identify the main accessibility issues Deaf and Disabled Londoners experience in their homes; to understand the impact of living in unaffordable and inaccessible homes; to examine the evidence base local authorities rely upon to plan and build homes for Deaf and Disabled people in their areas; to explore the barriers local authorities face when attempting to build affordable and accessible homes and; to investigate the effectiveness of London Plan policies on accessible and affordable housing set by the GLA.
In conclusion, 'Barriers at Home' lists recommendations for national and regional government.

Camron Aref-Adib & Felicia Odamtten seek to answer the question of why housing is less affordable for ethnic minorities than for our white British peers? Despite spending approximately twice as much of our income on housing, those of us from Bangladeshi, 'Black other' and Black African-headed households are about three times more likely to live in homes with damp than White British counterparts; more likely to live in homes that fail to meet basic quality standards and; for families with children, lack access to outdoor space. After formally testing [Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition] how much factors like age profile and geographic location explain the difference between the housing cost to income ratios of each ethnic group, this research finds that minorities are more likely to face barriers when renting, due to landlords’ or letting agents’ biases, often rooted in stereotypes. Research concludes that discrimination remains widespread in housing access today. Aref-Adib and Odamtten call on Government to act to tackle the well-documented nationwide housing crisis, as well as consider an official enquiry into discrimination and housing access that so many from minority backgrounds still encounter in the UK today.

Addressing the housing crisis may require redistributing existing housing stock rather than solely focusing on new construction. Various strategies, including pricing, taxation, and regulatory measures, could promote better use of under-occupied homes. With the latest data on levels of occupation by local authority and by Ward, Eleanor Benton finds the number of housing units in London (3,671,000) exceeds the number of households (3,577,000). One of the explanations as to why the UK housing stock has become so unevenly distributed is heavy reliance on homeownership, along with the growth in landlords.
Under-occupation is heavily concentrated in the owner-occupied tenure, making up nearly half of all people that own their home outright, and nearly a third of those with a mortgage. Over a third of all white households have two or more spare bedrooms, compared to just 12% of Black households.

This analysis, based on a sample of listings, finds evidence of a sustained reduction in the size of London’s PRS and determines that stock at 'the lower end' reduced faster than the rest during 2023. The availability of listings affordable to households at Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates reduced throughout 2023-24 for all bed sizes before increasing slightly to 5.0% in Q2 2024, following the latest increase in LHA rates. This remains well below 30% of the market intended to be affordable on LHA. The loss of properties at the lower end of the market has a particular impact on the ability of low-income households to access a home and makes it harder for local authorities to prevent and to alleviate homelessness.

Conclusions and recommendations on the efficacy and possibilities of 'Licensing Private Rented Homes', drawn from analysis of evidence (quantitative and qualitative data) within five local authorities – Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Waltham Forest, and Westminster. Themes include government scheme designation conditions; the measurement of improvement; the experience of scheme renewal and; financial viability and sustainability. Careful consideration is given to the local characteristics and demography of those boroughs, as well as legal and political contexts.

Aimed at the government, this document calls for fundamental reform of the private rented sector as one of five recommendations, developed through decades of research and experience, grounded in evidence and collaboration with housing pioneers, as well through the funding of innovative projects to redesign the current housing system.

Acknowledging that long-term renting is here to stay, the renter experience needs to improve; abolishing 'no-fault' evictions, in particular. Stronger renter protections do not seem to have a negative effect on supply. Regulations like rent controls can help renters but must be carefully calibrated to avoid unintended consequences Places with rent controls do not necessarily have lower rents as a share of income, but changes in this ratio are more stable. Also, countries with rent controls had a faster growing private rental sector than countries without controls in the decade to 2022.
Concludes with four main recommendations.

Confirms that people living in the private rented sector are the most likely to live in a home of poor condition. Renters' ability to repair poor conditions themselves is very limited—responsibility for repair lies principally with the home’s owners. The report includes the key concepts of hazards and estimates associated costs. In conclusion; investing now to improve housing will bring immediate benefits to people’s health, with long-term benefits to health and social care sectors, the wider economy.

The number of renters aged over 65 is growing fast. This report serves to amplify the voices of older renters, from their concerns about affording rent to fears around the security and quality of their home. It includes policy recommendations which, if implemented, would help to meet the needs of increasing numbers of elders living in the private rented sector.

Chapter 1 includes 20 charts to illustrate the grim facts and appalling stats; 50% more people are sleeping rough in London than a decade ago and more than 300,000 Londoners are currently on the waiting list for a council home. After meeting the high cost of housing, 25% of Londoners live in poverty. Chapter 2 outlines how policies, at all levels of government, have
influenced housing in London over the last few decades and the policy levers
available.

Uses a mixed methods approach to make the case for an urgent cross-departmental review of PRS supply and development of a long-term PRS strategy.
The strongest and most urgent recommendation is for improvement in the purchasing power of lower income households and local authorities. Also proposes enabling public acquisition of properties leaving the LHA or temporary accommodation sub-sectors.

Includes 12 strong recommendations for Government action, after analysis of quantitative data gathered from survey of more than 2,600 members, working across a wide range of public services and across the four nations of the UK. Respondents answered questions about the costs, conditions and suitability of their housing, and the implications of the cost-of-living crisis on their housing and living standards. A majority of low-paid UNISON members, especially those who are private tenants, experience expensive and poor quality housing. Findings reinforce existing evidence that those on lower incomes are facing the greatest increases in housing costs and therefore that housing is a key driver of in-work poverty.

An analysis of the latest data finds striking inequality in housing costs, quality and security experienced by people with minoritised ethnic identities and white British people. Also, that gaps in data collection and analysis are holding back progress towards closing housing inequalities. 'The Impacts of the Housing Crisis on People of Different Ethnicities' makes the case for tackling the racist consequences of right to rent policies and for strengthening regulations against racial discrimination and poor quality homes run by landlords and their agents.

London's backlog of unmet housing need is steadily worsening. Annual output of new homes overshoots targets for 'market' and 'intermediate' homes and under-achieves for desperately needed homes for 'social' rent.
The inequality exposed by Covid-19 was seen in overcrowded living conditions, highly unequal access to green space and many Londoners unable to afford to stay at home and self-isolate. The Community-Led Recovery Plan is a call to action for all who would rather live in a caring city. Policies 19 to 24 deal directly with 'Housing'.

The Committee found a fragmented and disempowered regulatory system in which lack of capacity constrains local authorities' exercise of their enforcement powers and support to renters.
Includes key recommends for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The average London tenant paid £23,380 on rent in 2021, which equated to 48% of average income. In 2022, as the cost of living crisis escalates, the average London tenant is set to spend +55% of take home pay on rent and bills.

Perceived race and ethnicity are important dimensions of inequality in London, as reflected in and exacerbated by housing. For example, Black households are significantly more likely than others to report moving because their landlord ended the tenancy or evicted them and most likely to have been treated worse by private landlords. This research note analyses a range of secondary data sources to elucidate the relationships between housing and racial inequality in London.

The right to adequate housing is a fundamental human right, set out in several international treaties which are binding on UK. But successive UK governments have failed to acknowledge or implement this right. The report makes recommendations to the UK Government; Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; the Treasury; Department for Work and Pensions; Department for Education; Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London; London Local Authorities; UK Parliament and the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee and; to Private Landlords, based on evidence from people living in temporary accommodation, local government and NGO officers.

'Time for change: Making renting fairer for private renters' proposes a set of evidence-based reforms towards a private rented sector fit for purpose, to inform the promised Renters' Reform Bill.

This report examines the extent to which current regulation of private renting in England supports the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities stated aim; to ensure that the sector is fair for renters.
NAO finds that statistics suggest engagement with landlord and letting agent trade bodies omits many landlords who are non-compliant from DLUHC analysis.
The report concludes that tenants from low-income groups experience worse property conditions or treatment and that DHLUC is not proactive in supporting local authorities to regulate effectively.

The high cost of private renting leaves nearly one million low-income households paying rents they cannot afford. This briefing provides new analysis on the depth and geographical spread of the problem and examines the Government’s policy response, which is not currently succeeding either in making renting more affordable or in making homeownership accessible to these renters. It shows why significantly increasing the supply of homes for social rent is the solution and sets out the level of investment the Government should commit to deliver them.

Uses quantitative analysis to interrogate the dynamics of race and class in London through the lens of gentrification, mapping the particularities that re-shaped the city in the 2010s. Gentrification can be broadly defined as a process in which poor neighbourhoods are transformed by the entrance of middle-class occupants. In London, one indicator of gentrification is a rapid change in demographics, as the gentrifiers tend to be whiter than the communities that are being gentrified. Between 2010 and 2016, neighbourhoods located within ‘Opportunity Areas’ (OAs) were significantly more likely to gentrify and had higher rates of displacement, measured using the proxy indicator of population churn. The report explores the influence of OAs on gentrification at the borough-wide level. Five policy recommendations include rent controls in the private rental sector and a Social Impact Assessment in Strategic Plans.

A system rife with discrimination and racism, unaffordable, unfit, unstable and insecure housing. Shelter commissioned research with 13000 people to reveal the extent of the housing emergency, and to make the case for desperately-needed social housing.

Concludes that temporary interventions to address issues raised by Covid-19 favoured homeowners and landlords more than tenants. Nigel de Noronha, Assistant Professor, School of Geography at University of Nottingham, furnishes evidence and data on how the impact of poor-quality private rented housing has affected the wellbeing of marginalised groups in both urban and rural areas. This Housing Briefing paper forms part of Collaboratives on addressing
racial inequity in Covid recovery.

'Journeys in The Shadow Private Rented Sector' identifies how and why London has come to provide such a favourable environment for criminality in the PRS. This research makes the case for greater emphasis on detection, prosecution and penalties to constitute an adequate deterrent on the kinds of rental arrangement that evade routine survey data collection, trapping those renters with least power in dangerous and miserable conditions.

Uses the established consumer outcomes measures to assess the level of detriment and harm that renters receive in the private rented sector. The report proposes a data-driven approach to giving people greater protection as 'consumers in the rental market' and recommends steps for Government to take, to better protect and empower renters.

Up to 45 per cent of the net cost of the government’s newly-extended Covid-19 furlough scheme will be spent on rent and debt repayments to landlords, banks and other lenders, amounting to an implicit bail-out of landlords and banks, according to this analysis from IPPR.
As a result, say the authors, landlords and lenders are effectively protected from the economic impact of the virus, while poorer households bear the brunt. They warn that if families emerge from the crisis less able to spend because their debts are higher, it will take longer for the economy to recover.
'Who Wins and Who Pays?' includes recommendations for short-term measures to ensure that banks, landlords and the well-off also take their share of the burden.

'Pretty Vacant’ reports on Action on Empty Homes’ year-long investigation into how wealth investment has contributed to the current housing crisis in London. The report concludes with a series of recommendations to help policymakers better understand and tackle the problems wrought by the financialisation of housing in the UK capital.

Proposals to strengthen the systems and protect all people now experiencing or at risk of poverty during the coronavirus pandemic. These include lifting the LHA cap to cover actual housing costs and guiding principles to provide protection from eviction.

In London, as other cities across the World, concerns about the negative impacts of short-term letting primarily relate to loss of housing stock from the residential rental market. This research considers the number, type and price per night of London listings on the AirBnB web portal. It also examines the providers and the consumers of London short stay accommodation via that portal. The Mayor of London has less direct control over short-term letting than his counterparts in other international cities and London boroughs report numerous challenges to monitoring holiday letting activity for enforcement purposes. Evidence suggests that this is partly due to a lack of resource and lack of available data.

Using data on rents and housing expenditure from the English Housing Survey, analysis from Shelter shows that, during 2017-18 there were 2.2 million households paying more than the affordable level of income to rent from private landlords. The value of the overspend totals very nearly £218 million each week; £11.4 billion annually.

Since 2010, average private rents in London have risen more than three times as fast as average earnings. By 2016, one in four privately renting households in the capital spent over half of their income on rent. NEF outlines why the scale of the housing affordability crisis in London means that, despite carefully designed rent controls are necessary to create a capital city with a less unfair, more affordable PRS

Conversion of buildings to residential use without going through the full planning process has had disastrous consequences for London. Over half (59%) of London's Permitted Development homes are smaller than the nationally described minimum space standard and yet, of 15,929 new homes built through permitted development in London since 2013, only 71 were defined as “affordable”.
'Slums of The Future - permitted development conversions in London' recommends scrapping permitted development.

As the gap between market rent and local housing allowance levels has widened, the number of London households in temporary accommodation has risen, reaching 56,560 households, including 88,500 children, in the final quarter of 2018. Without enough suitable property themselves, Councils struggle to procure decent temporary accommodation within their boroughs, spending more and more on expensive, nightly-paid, privately rented housing.
'Living in Limbo: London's Temporary Accommodation crisis' includes some proposals for solutions.

Across the United Kingdom as a whole, the number of families with dependent children living in private rental accommodation has increased by 94% in the past decade. As the monthly cost of renting is some 20 per cent higher than the cost of monthly mortgage repayments, 'The Parent Rent Trap' calls for a 'joined up' policy response.

This report evidences how London has a huge need for low-cost rented homes that is exacerbated by the national 'right to buy' policy and the trend of homes bought under the 'right to buy' being sold on to private landlords.
In 'Right to Buy: Wrong for London' Tom Copley makes four key recommendations to staunch this flow of wealth from the many, to the few.

In the 1970s, 33% of English households lived in council-owned housing. Now, that figure is just 17%. Much of the backlog of unmet need leaves people in inadequate PRS housing. This paper details the analytical work undertaken to quantify the number of social homes required.

The prevalence of poorly paid jobs and the absence of enough housing at reasonable rents mean that 225,657 private rented London households receive an average of £196.57 per week in housing benefits. This rises to £255.36 in Tower Hamlets. Housing benefit has been capped, though, while rents have not.
If employers don't respond with higher pay they will face staff shortages as workers are increasingly unable to access housing.
This report includes average rental prices for a 2 bedroom home in each of the 33 London boroughs.

'Vulnerability amongst Low-Income Households in the Private Rented Sector in England' uses robust evidence to prove that a large proportion of private renters are experiencing harm from over-crowding, poverty and poor conditions.
Landlords' failure to maintain property to the Decent Homes Standard is not markedly more common for tenants in the bottom third income group. Many families may still have no alternative to living in a non-Decent Homes Standard compliant property after income increases into the top two-thirds income group.

Growing numbers of older people are living in private rented accommodation. The experience is frequently characterised by serious concerns about conditions and security (or lack thereof) in retirement. This report highlights the many ways in which the PRS needs to deliver improvements for our ageing population.

Around 70% of children in poverty in London are in a working family. Housing costs push many Londoners into poverty and PRS rents are a significant contribution to the fact that the London poverty rate is the highest in England.

While the number of older people living in privately rented homes is growing, the plight of older renters has been largely overlooked. "Living In Fear" makes the case for urgent improvements to affordability, accessibility, stability and property conditions.

The number of tenants evicted by private landlords exceeds the number evicted by social landlords. Nearly two-thirds of ‘no fault’ evictions, under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, are in London. Tenants on low incomes are being evicted because benefits are insufficient to pay rents. Then, people are unable to afford alternative homes in the private rented sector, nor to access social housing.

Research into the impacts of 'right to rent' rules reveals that British citizens without passports, particularly those from ethnic minorities, are being discriminated against in the private rental housing market. Moreover, 51% of landlords surveyed said that the scheme would make them less likely to consider letting to foreign nationals.

The report focuses on the “financialization of housing” and its impact on our human right to adequate housing. The report concludes with a review of states’ policy responses to the financialization of housing, and recommendations for more coherent and effective strategies, to ensure that the actions of global financial institutions and actors are consistent with securing access to housing for all by 2030.

There is little sign that legislation requiring letting agents to be transparent about their fees and charges empowers tenants. Generation Rent, like Citizen's Advice Bureau, Shelter and Renters' Rights London, support a ban on tenant-side fees.

The new London Help to Buy scheme is supposed to help private renters in London escape private renting by giving them a 40 per cent equity loan to buy a home. Savill's analysis shows Londoners will still need a household income of more than £50,000 and a deposit of at least £10,000 in all London boroughs except one.

A study of private renters with legal problems found that few renters realised their housing difficulty was a legal problem: nearly half put it down to ‘bad luck’. Only 10 per cent sought formal advice: the rest tried to resolve their legal problems on their own.

Research by the National Housing Federation shows that private renters in the UK pay almost double the rent that European renters pay, relative to earnings

The number of households in England living in the private rented sector has doubled over the last ten years. The New Policy Institute assesses the physical state of private rental properties and calls for landlord licensing and other regulation.

Allowing landlords to artifically inflate rents has created a huge Housing Benefit bill. Civitas calls for indefinite tenancy lengths and rent increases pegged to inflation

Government figures show that the loss of a private tenancy accounts for nearly 4 in 10 cases of homelessness in London

A third of homes in the PRS fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard. Landlords should be more professional and local authorities given greater power

House prices in London are more than 14 times the mean average London salary, and private rents account for 53% of gross earnings. Unaffordable housing puts increasing pressure on the Housing Benefit bill: between 2008 and 2014 the number of working households in London needing housing benefit to cover their rent rose by 16.8%

Generation Rent predicts that by 2021, 104 MPs will represent constituencies where a majority of people are renters. 49 of these seats will be in London. This represents a huge increase in political power for a large section of the population that has long been neglected

This report examines the ’housing pinched’ - those who spend more than half of their disposable income on housing each month - and finds private renters are the most likely to be in this group

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is the maximum amount of housing benefit a person can get to pay their rent. When the LHA rates were lowered in April 2011, the government said it would bring down rents. But it didn’t: instead, private renters in London are suffering

A longitudinal study spent 19 months tracking the experiences of 128 people who had been rehoused in the PRS after being homeless. Every home surveyed had a repair problem and the majority of tenants encountered a problem with their landlord. Many also struggled to pay for energy and food after the cost of rent. Living in the PRS has a profound impact on wellbeing and security, so is particularly unsuitable for vulnerable people

Rising living costs are increasingly driving private renters into financial difficulty and debt. Private rents are now higher than mortgage costs, and have risen at a faster rate

Homes in the private rented sector are in worse conditions than homes of any other tenure, but renters do not report poor conditions for fear of retaliatory eviction. In a market where the demand for homes outstrips supply and the imbalance between landlords’ and renters’ market power has become entrenched, we urgently need regulatory intervention

In privately rented housing, safety and quality are falling. Local authorities should be given more power to tackle it

Little is known about the UK's private landlords, because they don't have to be on any register. This report uses the government's Wealth and Assets Survey to study the wealth and other characteristics of private landlords, who make up 2 per cent of the population.

39% of Londoners living below the poverty line after housing costs are private renters

This report finds low to middle income households increasingly have only one housing option: unaffordable private rent

Private renters pay high fees to letting agents but receive poor service. Agency fees should be charged to the landlord, not the tenant, and letting agents should be better regulated

Growing up in the PRS has a damaging impact on children’s lives, finds this report. With renting families being nine times more likely to move house than families who own a home, children often have to change schools, families struggle to pay the rent and homes are often in poor condition

Housing policy should ensure that everyone can live in a decent and affordable home regardless of tenure. Private renters need greater control of their tenancies so they are not at the mercy of their landlord

The housing crisis is at its worst in London. The IPPR explores the possibility of a London Rent Stabilisation Board with maximum base rents to keep rent increases in check