Nearly one million private renters in England under threat of eviction, new research finds
Nearly a million private renters in England are under threat of eviction due to record high rents and soaring living costs, a leading housing charity has found.
Shelter’s poll, carried out by YouGov, found one in 12 private renters in England – equivalent to 941,000 people – are currently facing eviction.
Of those at risk of eviction, 504,000 private renters had received or been threatened with an eviction notice in the past month – up 80% on the same period last year.
And 482,000 of those are behind on their rent, which means they are in danger of losing their home, the research found.
Shelter has warned the government’s failure to unfreeze housing benefit in the autumn statement on 17 November displays a failure to acknowledge the growing rental crisis and said it will result in rising homelessness this winter.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), which represents private landlords, also called on the government to “do more to support those most in need of help” including unfreezing housing benefit rates.
Shelter’s research found a quarter of private renters, equivalent to 2.8 million people, are constantly struggling to pay their rent – an increase of 24% compared with the same period last year.
And it found more than two thirds (69%) of private renters, equivalent to 7.7 million people, would struggle to find a suitable home this winter if they were evicted.
Chris Norris, policy director for the NRLA, said: “The vast majority of landlords want to help tenants stay in their homes wherever possible.
“It is simply absurd that support for housing costs is being linked to rents as they were three years ago, not as they are today.”
He also called on ministers to address the rental supply crisis as he said the recent tax increases have reduced the number of homes available yet demand remains strong so is driving rents up.
Shelter said renters are at risk of being made homeless
Read more:
Rents at record high mean ‘extreme’ competition for homes
No-fault evictions driving up homelessness rates
Mr Norris added that the NRLA is working with the government to ensure the system that replaces Section 21 repossessions – known as “no-fault evictions” – is “fair and workable for responsible landlords as well as tenants”.
The government said it is helping with the rising cost of living with the Energy Price Guarantee to help with energy bills this winter and payments of £1,200 to the most vulnerable.
A government spokesman said: “Councils have a duty to ensure families are not left without a roof over their heads, and we’re giving them £316m this year to help prevent evictions and provide temporary accommodation.
“Ensuring a fair deal for renters remains a priority for the government, that’s why we will deliver on our commitment to abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.”
During the pandemic, the Local Housing Allowance was increased beyond inflation at the time, with more than a million households getting an average of around £600 over the year. That has been kept by the government.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Every day our emergency helpline advisers are taking gut-wrenching calls – from the mum skipping meals to pay the rent to the family terrified they will be spending Christmas in a grotty homeless hostel.
“The government’s refusal to unfreeze housing benefit, when private rents are rising at record rates, means the rental crisis is fast becoming a homelessness emergency.
“At Shelter, we are doing all we can to help people keep the bailiffs at bay, but we’ve got our work cut out.
“Shelter’s frontline services are working seven days a week to help people weather the storm, but as more people turn to us, we need the public’s support more than ever this winter.”
An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.
The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.
On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.
Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.
“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.
“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”
“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.
Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle in Brisbane Road in the Ilford in the early hours of Thursday morning.
A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.
Harshita Brella, 24, from Corby. Her body was found in a car in east London. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.
“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.
“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”
Pankaj Lamba. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Force referred to police watchdog
On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.
Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.
East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.
State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.
A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.
Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.
His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.
Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.
A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.
His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.
The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.
Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a a good physical match.
Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.
The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.
Read more from Sky News:
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The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”
Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life
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