More than one in three private tenants have used credit to pay their rent over the last year, polling from StepChange Debt Charity shows, which it says “reveals the increasingly bleak outlook for tenants” in the sector.   

The charity says that 38% of private renters used some form of credit to afford their lets, which compares to 20% of mortgage holders. 

The survey comes as UK private rents lifted by 5.5% in the year to August, up from 5.3% in the 12 months to July, according to the Office for National Statistics. 

London saw the highest rent rises in the country over the period, lifting by 5.9% — the highest annual rate since records began in 2006, says the government body. 

The charity says private sector rent rises across the UK have led to many tenants “using credit, cutting back on essentials and relying on savings to pay rent”.  

Its poll adds that 27% of renters have used savings to pay rent over the past year, up from 20% in May. 

And that 23% of renters have rationed the amount of heating, electricity or water to afford rent over the past year, also up from 20% in May. 

The charity welcomes the government’s Renters Reform Bill, due to have its second reading in parliament, which will end Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, among other measures. 

But the body adds: “Financially vulnerable private renters remain overlooked in these reforms as the grounds for eviction on the basis of rent arrears are to be strengthened.” 

The charity calls for: 

• Rent arrears under Ground 8 of the Housing Act to be made a discretionary rather than mandatory ground for eviction, allowing courts to consider a tenant’s individual circumstances when they fall into rent arrears and to intervene where landlords have not taken sufficient steps to support them 
• The introduction of a new pre-action protocol for possession claims by private landlords setting out reasonable steps landlords should take to support tenants in arrears before making a possession claim, such as affordable repayment plans 

StepChange Debt Charity director of external affairs Richard Lane says: “Having mandatory protections in the private rented sector that mirror what already exists for social housing tenants and mortgagers would create a fairer and more sustainable system for private renters, which is especially vital as the cost-of-living crisis rages on. 

“Housing law and policy are years behind the reality of a private rented sector where landlords are poorly placed to deal with the needs of struggling vulnerable tenants.  

“Alongside legal reforms, the government must ensure that effective support is in place to help people stay in their homes without the constant fear of debt or eviction.” 

The charity’s online poll was conducted by data group YouGov, which interviewed 1,986 adults between 1 to 3 September.