Results and Conclusions

PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR SURVEY

Karen Buck MP

Introduction Following on from the survey I undertook on basement conversions in early 2013, a survey on the Private Rented Sector was distributed just before Christmas last year which aimed to uncover a further snapshot of another issue affecting many people living in Westminster. Westminster has one of the highest private rented sectors in the UK at twice the national average, 2 out of 5 Westminster homes are now being rented from a private landlord. Generation Rent is a label frequently used to refer to the growing number of families, couples and single people who are unable save for a deposit for their own home because of the cost of renting, and are unable to move to cheaper rented accommodation because of the lack of affordable properties in and around London. What I hope these results will provide is a fair and broad experience of renters in my constituency of Westminster North and an understanding of the situation faced by a growing number of people. Summary and Findings A hard copy of the survey was distributed widely to known rented properties and blocks which indicated, from the electoral register, a significant number of private rented properties. We also made the survey available online. We received 134 responses in total, the majority of them online responses. In many cases, not all the questions within the survey were completed by respondents. Respondents tended to answer questions relating to those aspects of the private rented sector survey that they had particular experience with, and which they felt needed highlighting. General Questions The opening questions looked at the length of time people had spent renting, whether they felt this was a good option for them over the medium/longer term, and asked whether they are waiting for or would prefer social housing. The results showed that for the majority - 83% - private renting is not a good option for anything beyond the short term. Whilst it was seen as a good option in medium/longer term for 17 respondents, 33 respondents stated explicitly that they would prefer to be in social housing. Around half that number stated that they would not want to be social housing Many respondents cited the insecurity of private renting:
The rent can be raised to whatever the landlord demands at the end of the contract, so you can never feel at home as you may not be able to afford the rent when the contract expires. There should be rent control for sitting tenants.(Respondent)

However, the same respondent was also one of several who explicitly stated that they did not want to be in social housing;
I do not qualify nor would I want to live in social housing. Why is the story always about low income or high income? What about the people in the middle? (Respondent)

Concerns about the impossibility of getting on the housing ladder came from across the spectrum of single people and young families, but also from several people aged fifty and over:
I would prefer to be in social housing but I know I'll be dead before I'm granted anything as I'm not in any priority group. I'm a single white male. I've been told not to even bother applying several times, off the record, by council staff.(Respondent)

Several respondents spoke of the anxiety and uncertainty brought about by private renting, and how their current housing situation meant that they didnt really know what was going to happen in the future. Upsettingly, the gentleman quoted above continued:
I don't know what's going to happen to me as the years go by, I'm fifty now and suspect that I may have to go homeless in my latter years, and a predicament which one hopes will shorten their length considerably. I am not frightened by the prospect. (Respondent)

The respondents also included a small number of private landlords, and shared opinions that could be considered surprising. One landlord was in favour of capping rents and a stronger redress mechanism for tenants:
I am a private landlord of a single, one-bed property. I think there should be rent control, a proper complaints process for tenants and much stronger enforcement of the deposit scheme.(Respondent)

Although a third of respondents stated they would prefer to be in social housing, around a sixth explicitly stated that they would not, indicating something of the historically emotive investments in this issue. However, several of the latter group said that they would be in favour of more social homes being built to alleviate demand. Current Rented Homes We also asked about tenants experiences of their current private rented home if it was difficult to secure, or if there were issues with repairs. 40% of respondents found it difficult to secure their current rented home, reasons cited included that: The rent was unaffordable 30% The fees were too high 10% Found out house was being sold! 4% They were already homeless 4% Because they claimed Housing Benefit 17.5%

34% of respondents stated that it was not difficult to secure their current home, but still cited problems including cost and expenses:
It wasn't difficult to find, but I had problems getting the deposit, so had to do that on credit cards and overdraft until completion on my own flat. I wasn't on housing benefit once I sold the property, so paid the full rent, which is very expensive. (Respondent)

Yes, I would find it difficult to secure the current flat because most of the salary I am getting is going towards bills/rent. However, for people who are getting the state support. On the other, if you are not working it is also difficult to secure a rented home because the housing benefit is not enough to cover bills and the expenditure. (Respondent) It was not difficult but it is expensive - our current rent is 1,700 a month and this takes a huge chunk out of our income. The landlord put the rent up by 130 a month this year and we know they want to put it up more next year - they say we are paying below the market level. We have no security as a family and don't know from one year to the next whether we will be able to afford to stay where we are. The flat needs work doing to it but we don't want to ask the landlord to do this as they are likely to use it as a reason to push up our rent. (Respondent)

The survey then moved on to look at a cost breakdown of fees and other related costs. We listed some common charges used by estate agents and asked our respondents to tick those they had paid in the past. Fees / Other Costs Breakdown (% of all respondents who ticked yes) Reference Check Inventory Fee Letting Agent Fee Checking in / out fee Other 64 51 69 34 30

The survey asked about a renters total expenditure in regard to fees and found the median figure was 300 (the lowest figure being 125 to the highest being 500). However many respondents included this as part of their deposit costs. Rent The level of rent, and what percentage it takes up of ones take home pay, is one of the most critical issues in the pressured private rented sector. We asked what (rough) percentage of their take - home pay respondents spent on rent. Below is a table breaking down the results. The starkest finding from this was that, of respondents paying over 50% of their take home pay on rent, 19 respondents stated they received no Housing Benefit.

Rent Spend (as % of take home income) 19% or less 20 - 29% 30 - 39% 40 - 49% 5 14 16 10

50 % and over 50% 55% 60% 65-66% 68% 70% 75% 80% More than 80% 16 4 3 3 1 1 1 4 2 Total (paying 50% and over): 35

Rental costs are a useful indicator of where the market is at, but the survey also asked respondents if they had problems covering the cost of their rent over the last year. We also asked if their rent had risen over the term they had been at the property and whether their take home pay had risen to match. Overall, 44 respondents stated that there had been problems covering their rent in the last year, and that take home pay had not risen in line with rent increases. 71 respondents stated they had been able to cover the rent over the last year even with increases. However, for the majority their take home pay had not matched any increases in their rent. Respondents managed these rises

through Housing Benefit, other benefits, cutting other aspects of their household budget, or in a few cases gaining a better paying job. Landlords/Managing Agents Landlords and managing agents are an important part of the renters experience. From the chart below we can see that it is a fairly even split between landlords and managing agents.

Who do you have most contact with, your landlord, or their Managing Agent (if applicable?)
Landlord Managing Agent 2% 46% 52% Not Sure

Following on from the graph above, respondents cited some issues around their ability to contact either their landlord or managing agent. Below are quotes from respondents; problems raised were largely around repairs which were only carried out when the lease was about to be renewed, threats of eviction and rent rises. However there were some positive answers and overall there was an even mix of respondents between those who found it easy to contact their landlord and managing agent and those who did not:
I write with issues to the landlord. But, it usually is fruitless. Repairs are only undertaken at lease renewal. And then, they are limited. (Respondent) Contact & communication with landlord is very difficult and has to be managed very delicately as every time I approach them they behave in threatening manner (implying rent rise or eviction). (Respondent) Our landlord uses a management agency. For the first two years at the property we had great difficulty contacting the agent and getting any repair work carried out, even after a severe flood from a flat above. This agent was replaced with a new one 2 years into our tenancy. The new agent is much more helpful and easily contactable. (Respondent)

Contracts & Standard of Accommodation

How long is your current contract?

Twenty-four months 8% Other 11% Six months 13%

Twelve months 68%

This graph shows a clear majority of contracts lasting for twelve months. The survey also shows an even split in responses concerning satisfaction with regard to the overall standard of the accommodation, between those who were satisfied with their accommodation and those who were not. However, the most telling results from this section of the survey were how many respondents articulated a desire for a longer and more secure contract of between 2-5 years. Although a minority of respondents stated they were happy with a shorter contract citing their need for flexibility, the selection of responses below reflects the feelings of the majority of respondents. There seems to be an overall feeling of unease with a shorter contract, which impedes planning for the future, being part of a community and has disproportional effects on families with young children.
We are satisfied with the state of the accommodation. We have had a rolling contract which we renew every year for another 12 months. We would have welcomed a much longer contract as we have young children who go to school in the area. However, our landlord has decided to sell the property so we are going to move out of the area as we cannot afford to continue paying such high levels of rent on a long term basis. We are completely unable to save for the future or to buy our own property while we rent in London. (Respondent) Six months. I would prefer to sign a longer contract with guaranteed rents/rent increases for a set period. That way it would be more secure. I have lived in London for almost exactly three years and I'm already on my sixth house. (Respondent) Our lease is renewed yearly but we would have preferred a longer lease as more security and we wouldn't have the annual worry about rent rises. Our flat needs a lot of work but the landlady refuses to do any work stating the rent remains competitive so she doesn't have to do any maintenance. We are now in the position where we have to decide whether to put up with all the issues and pay more money for the same thing or move out to another flat and have to find a deposit etc all over again. (Respondent)

Westminster Services and Alternatives Though repair issues have been cited by many respondents, when asked in the survey whether they had contacted Westminsters Environmental Health Department about any concerns they had with their property an overwhelming majority had not. Though Westminster Environmental Health are by no means the only option for tenants, their HHSRS (Housing, Health and Safety Rating System) surveys and results may help enable tenants to enforce necessary repair works, or help them highlight any concerns they have about the property. On reporting disrepair issues and measuring the responses these enquires received, we learnt that these range from the extremely positive right through to requests for repair being completely ignored. The median in terms of responses was that work was carried out, but not always in good time and to a satisfactory standard. Respondents in the main (80%) had not sought help from agencies such as Citizens Advice Bureau, a lawyer, Councillor or MP. Unfortunately, it is difficult to extrapolate whether they felt they did not need to use outside agencies or that they were unaware they could be of assistance. Below are three representative responses giving an overall picture:
CAB is useless I found. As for Westminster Environmental Health Team, I did not know about this service but I will contact them now because my mother has a serious mould issue, probably from the leaking roof. (Respondent) I generally contact the managing agent and if he doesn't respond then contact the Landlord. The issues are generally fixed temporarily but the managing agent is always reluctant to fix the root cause of the issue. For e.g. one of the heaters valves was broken so the managing agent just cut off the gas supply to it but didn't fix the valve. Sometimes the managing agent said they were waiting for the landlord to respond and when I'd check with the landlord he doesn't know anything about it. (Respondent) My landlord has been responsive on emergency issues, but declined to help on non-emergency issues, like windows opening/closing properly. (Respondent)

Conclusions From the start of this survey the findings indicated feelings of uncertainty about what the current private rented market provides. They fit into what we already knew, which is that many people would like to move on, be it to another private rented property, buy their own property or obtain social housing, but because of the current squeeze in the market this is not an option. Linking this to wage stagnation and cost/rent increases, these factors are leaving many people with few options. Though the quality of the accommodation was mixed and peoples experiences of landlord/managing agents varied, it was telling that the majority of people, even when faced with repairs and other issues did not seek assistance from outside agencies or Westminsters Environmental Health Team. Renters need to use all the tools available to them to ensure that they are being treated fairly and their properties are being properly maintained.

Furthermore, there is a sense throughout the survey and its findings that even though some renters are in control of their situation, and have an equal and good relationship with their landlords, many face challenges on all fronts. They are threatened with eviction if they raise issues with the property, they may have to withhold information if they are in receipt of Housing Benefit and live in fear of being found out, rent rises above inflation and wages that are not keeping up are eating away at their income and taking away from their quality of life.
Yes, we contacted the managing agent but she says if we aren't happy we can move. There is no negotiating. It's very upsetting because this is our home, not just a property to us and we don't want to uproot our daughter unless we have to. (Respondent)

The feeling that this not someones permanent home, and that they are unable to move to set down roots, start families, or enjoy security, is leaving people of varied profiles stuck with a high cost home with no prospect of improving their situation. The private rented sector is an important and growing element of housing provision. The challenge is to make sure it offers an affordable, good quality and for families above all, a more secure option. I am submitting this survey to our Your Britain policy review, to add to the evidence. This link sets out how Labour intends to approach the issue of private rented housing: www.yourbritain.org.uk/agenda-2015/policy-review/private-rented-housing-stability-andaffordability Your further comments on this would be very welcome. Please email me at: buckk@parliament.uk Be assured that this will be one of my top priorities in the coming months and years.

To finish and because we all love a map; this graphic show the pattern of Londons housing mix.

Copyright: Savills, ONS and www.twitter.com/resi_analyst

Thank you to all those who participated in the survey. Karen Buck MP