MORE than one in eight privately rented homes in England pose a “serious threat” to the health and safety of their occupants, a damning report has revealed.
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee found fast-rising rents and low standards in the private sector mean that “safe, suitable housing is too often out of reach for renters”.
And they said that illness and injuries resulting from category one-rated health hazards – which could include risks such as electric faults, dangerous stairways, carbon monoxide leaks or structural weaknesses – were costing the NHS £340m a year.
A “postcode lottery” in standards saw as many as 21 per cent – more than one in five – of private rented homes in Yorkshire and the Humber presenting a serious threat to health, compared to 9 per cent in London.
As escalating house prices have taken home ownership out of the reach of many Britons, the private rental sector has doubled in size over the past 20 years and now houses 11m people, said the report.
Private tenants spend an average 32 per cent of their income on their accommodation, compared to 18 per cent for owner-occupiers and 27 per cent for those in social housing.
The report found that many tenants were reluctant to complain about health and safety risks in their homes because of fear of “no-fault” eviction.
When trying to enforce their legal right to a safe and secure home, they face “an inaccessible, arduous and resource-intensive court process and the risk of retaliatory eviction”, the report found.
The cross-party committee also found evidence of unlawful discrimination in the sector, with 25 per cent of landlords unwilling to let to non-British passport holders and 52 per cent refusing to take tenants on Housing Benefit.