An activist group claims 70% of tenants fear eviction if they request better energy efficiency in their rental properties.
That’s the claim from Acorn, a group which calls itself a tenants’ union.
Following a small survey – just 252 renters, at least some of which are members of Acorn – the group describes the experience of private tenants as living in “deficient housing stock.”
The group says it backs the Labour government’s anticip[ated introduction of improved minimum energy standards, but insists “there is much concern that these proposals will result in many people across England and Wales losing their homes if they are introduced without further protections for renters.”
The study shows 90% of respondents identifying structural defects in their homes including inadequate insulation, single-glazed windows and outdated heating systems. And it says: “This inefficiency results in a major crisis of affordability: 54% of all tenants reported struggling to meet energy costs. This is particularly acute for low-income households (82% of those earning under £18,000 per year) but demonstrably affects moderate-income brackets too (41% of those earning £35,000–£50,000).”
Acorn claims that to lower expenses, tenants employ strategies such as reducing heating to minimal or what the group terms “insufficient temperatures” with health impacts including chronic winter illness, exacerbated respiratory conditions, and difficulties for elderly and disabled renters.
Some 59% of respondents reported significant damp and mould growth, a condition which the study says is aggravated by inadequate ventilation and the inability to afford sufficient heating to keep homes dry.
The study goes on to say: “A central finding pertinent to forthcoming energy efficiency legislation is the very real housing insecurity tenants feel in relation to retrofits and home improvements.
“While 91% of tenants express a desire for energy efficiency retrofits, 70% maintain that engaging with landlords on this subject would result in retaliatory action, specifically eviction or a substantial rent increase. Remarkably, this apprehension is consistent across all income groups, from those earning below £18,000 a year to those earning over £100,000.”
Acorn – which calls itself a working class movement, based in London’s Covent Garden – adds: “This anticipated retaliatory rent increase is the main anticipated method of displacement following property improvement – or what we call ‘renoviction’. If the government’s proposals to require landlords to improve the energy efficiency of their properties proceed without protections for tenants, the outcome will likely be across-the-board rent rises and the pricing-out of tenants across England and Wales.
“For policy to effectively improve the housing stock as well as guarantee housing security for tenants, the concerns of the tenants must be addressed concurrently with the implementation of minimum energy standards.”
You can see Acorn’s lengthy full report here: https://acorntheunion.org.uk/press-releases-reports/hard-choices-or-no-choices-report-into-improving-energy-efficiency-in-privately-rented-homes/
This article is taken from Landlord Today