Britain has become a nation of renters. Sky News looks at the data to see if that leaves us in a better or worse place as the Bank of England prepares a new interest rate announcement.
- have either been hit with significant rises to their monthly payments or been forced to extend terms, meaning they are paying off the loan more slowly.
That's what happened to Andi Michalakis, a 51-year-old in Stevenage who lives in a three-bed house, currently surrounded by boxes containing her belongings, along with her 14-year-old son.Andi Michalakis, 51, has been served an eviction notice by her landlord after she disputed a rent rise Andi had to stop working for a time due to illness, and her work in the fashion industry was affected by lockdown, meaning that £100 extra her landlord was asking for represented almost half of all that she had left after paying the rent.
Sky News tried to contact Andi's landlord, via the estate agent and through the council, but he was unavailable to comment. The estate agent said they would not have asked for a rent increase as high as £225, because it was too much of a jump in one hit. Jasmine Basran, Head of Policy and Campaigns at homeless charity Crisis, told Sky News that competition in the private rental sector is making things particularly difficult for those worst off.
Mortgage holders are also empowered to negotiate lower monthly repayments with banks who have committed to support them and find solutions that avoid repossessions, in a way that renters often can't with their landlords. One of the reasons that evictions from private rental can lead towards homelessness is the competition in the rental market.
Some areas in England have experienced faster rent increases than others - a small handful have even seen reductions. The map below shows change in rents by area, for the lower end of the market and for the middle of the market . Because of this lack of capacity, the most vulnerable homeless households are prioritised for social housing, while others are moved into temporary accommodation.