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NOWHERE ELSE TO TURN

One in three renters on low wages forced to borrow money to pay rent, survey reveals

Charity finds 800,000 households unable to save even £10 a month due to cost of renting

ONE in three renters on low wages needs to borrow cash to pay the rent, a shock study reveals today.

The Shelter survey showed around half a million tenants are getting into dangerous debt by taking out expensive loans, withdrawing cash on credit cards or pleading with family and friends for an advance.

Half a million British renters on low wages have to borrow money just to get by, a study has found
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Half a million British renters on low wages have to borrow money just to get by, a study has foundCredit: Getty Images
Tenants are using credit cards, taking out loans and asking loved ones for cash
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Tenants are using credit cards, taking out loans and asking loved ones for cashCredit: Getty Images

And 1.3m households privately renting struggled to make ends meet after they’d paid for the roof over their head.

The charity found up to 800,000 households privately renting are unable to save even £10 a month due to the rocketing cost of housing.

Last night Shelter spokeswoman Anne Baxendale called on the new Government to build half a million new affordable homes for rent.

Millennials are likely to spend more than £44,000 more on rent than their parents did by age 30
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Millennials are likely to spend more than £44,000 more on rent than their parents did by age 30Credit: Getty Images
As many as 800,000 households privately renting have less than £10 left over at the end of each month
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As many as 800,000 households privately renting have less than £10 left over at the end of each monthCredit: Getty Images

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She said ordinary families were left with nowhere else to turn.

She added: “No family should have to choose between relying on their credit card to keep up with the rent or moving miles away from their jobs and schools to find a home they can actually afford.

“It just isn’t right that so many hard-working private renters are having to take on desperate or dangerous debts just to keep a roof over their heads.”

Shelter spokeswoman Anne Baxendale has called on the new Government to build half a million new affordable homes
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Shelter spokeswoman Anne Baxendale has called on the new Government to build half a million new affordable homesCredit: Getty Images

Low rates of home ownership and rising private rents mean the millennial generation are likely to spend more than £44,000 more on rent than their parents did by age 30, research published last year shows.

The YouGov survey of more than 2,000 households was carried out last month.

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