One in two private tenants in England, or 3.2 million people, wouldn’t have enough savings to pay their rent for more than a month if they lost their job, data from Shelter shows.

It adds that 2.2 million renters, or 34% of private tenants, would be immediately unable to pay their rent from their savings if they lost their job.  

The housing charity says the number of renters who are one pay cheque away from losing their home has jumped by 31% over the last two years, adding that these insecurity figures are the worst it has seen since the pandemic.

Rents are at record highs and Shelter’s latest YouGov poll points out that 55% of private renters have seen their rents rise over the last year, as landlords pass on rising mortgage costs to tenants who are trapped by supply shortages.

The charity says that “2.1 million tenants, or 37%, are now struggling or behind with their rent due to the increase in payments”.  

The data comes after the Bank of England lifted its base rate by 25bps to 5.25% earlier this month, its 14th rise in a row to the highest level for 15 years.     

The average cost of rent in England jumped 19% hitting a record £1,367 per property in July compared to the previous month, according to research from letting agent Goodlord earlier this month.    

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate says: “Private renters up and down the country are facing a crisis like never before. 

“Decades of failure from the government to build enough social housing means that the pressure on oversubscribed private renting is worse than ever.  

Neate adds: “The time for piecemeal policies is over. To jam the brakes on the housing emergency we need a genuinely affordable alternative to private renting. 

“We know social housing works for most people because it’s secure and the rents are tied to local incomes. Instead of empty words, the government and every political party must sign up to building thousands more social homes.” 

Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey adds: “We need to see local housing allowance unfrozen and an urgent effort to build more homes, particularly more social homes. 

“These measures, combined with the passing of the Renters Reform Bill, would protect tenants from imminent homelessness.”