Various charities say that renters risk losing their homes as government programmes designed to help tenants affected by Covid-19 wind down.

While welcoming today’s news that the government is extending the mortgage holiday payment scheme by three months, charities have pointed out that the pause on repossessions, announced on 19 March, ends on 25 June.

Citizens Advice calls this a ‘cliff edge’ and warms that it could send some renters into long-term debt and even homelessness.

It says that 2.6 million private tenants have already missed or expected to miss payments due to Covid-19 related issues.

Citizens Advice adds that of the 10,000 people it has helped with renting since the start of the lockdown, over 1,000 have been related to the threat of eviction.

It lists recommendations for dealing with this, asking the government to speed up the process to end section 21 evictions, making temporary changes to allow courts more discretion for tenants in arrears, and for the implementation of a ‘pre-action protocol’ that must be followed by landlords before possession proceedings can begin.

Meanwhile, Money Advice Trust chief executive Joanna Elson says that the government should increase the local housing allowance rate to cover 50 per cent of average market rents.

She adds: “We also need to see increased funding for discretionary housing payments – as the Scottish government has put in place for renters in Scotland just this week – and an extension to eviction protections in England and Wales beyond the end of June.”

Stepchange head of policy Peter Tutton adds: “The mortgage extension does beg the question about whether similar interventions will be forthcoming from the government to protect tenants in a similar way. The FCA cites “keeping a roof over people’s heads during a public health crisis” as part of its rationale for intervention, and this applies as much in the rented sector as to the mortgage sector.”