Housing data
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Mortgage holders and private renters are deep in the red
In 2019/20, 25% of the mortgage holders we helped with debt advice were in a negative budget - where their income doesn't cover their essential costs.
Now, 66% of the mortgage holders we help are in a negative budget.
Meanwhile, 60% of private renters are now in a negative budget, compared to 50% of people in social housing - as rising private rents drive people into the red.
Select 'Housing Tenure' to see the negative budget rates by housing tenure.
At the start of 2019/20, the mortgage holders we helped with debt advice had £62 left over each month after paying for their essentials.
Now, high interest rates have pushed them deep into the red - with their essentials costing nearly £180 more than their income each month.
Private renters are also deep in the red now, with an average monthly deficit of £76 after just about breaking even in 2019/20.
Social renters are much less deep in the red compared to private renters and mortgage holders, though they still have an average monthly deficit of £14.
High and rising private rent and mortgage costs are driving people into the red
This chart shows the average housing costs of the people we help with debt advice by their housing tenure.
Gas and electricity, private rent and mortgage costs have all increased significantly in the last two years.
High housing and energy costs are driving the people we help into a negative budget.
Among the people we help with debt advice, private renters are spending 52% of their income on their housing and energy costs alone.
Meanwhile, social renters in a negative budget are spending 42% of their income on housing and energy costs.
Record levels of homelessness among private renters
After a welcome drop in demand in the early months of the pandemic as the Government banned evictions, we are now helping record numbers of people with a homelessness issue.
In January 2024, we helped a record number of people with a homelessness issue - the fourth time this record has been broken since June 2023.
Use the drop-down filter to look at the breakdown by different groups.
Rising private rents, the Local Housing Allowance freeze and the rise in Section 21 ('no fault') evictions have led to a steep rise in private renters needing help with homelessness since the pandemic.
Section 21 evictions
In 2023, we helped a record number of people with Section 21/'no fault' evictions.
Some groups are affected more by the rise in Section 21/'no fault' evictions, including single parents, women and racially minoritised groups.
You can read more about the unequal impact of the evictions crisis on racially minoritised groups in this blog.
Use the dropdown menu to explore the trends for different demographic groups.
This series of charts shows the number of people we're helping with Section 21 evictions issues per 100,000 of the population of each region in England and Wales.
This shows that Section 21 evictions are not just a problem affecting London and the South East. In February, we helped a record number of people in the North East, per 100,000 of the population, with a Section 21 issue.
You can use the drop-down menu to select an individual region.