More than half of private renters in England – including 1.6 million children – are living in excessively cold, damp or mouldy homes, a survey by Citizens Advice suggests. Some 2.7 million households are struggling with the poor living conditions brought on by a combination of high energy bills and a lack of insulation, the charity found.
The problem is especially bad in the least energy efficient homes, with private tenants being 73% more likely to be living with damp if they are in a property with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D-G rather than A-C. Tenants are 89% more likely to experience excessive cold in a D-G rated property than one rated A-C.
Tenants in the private rental sector are some of the worst affected by the cost-of-living crisis and are paying for poor insulation, Citizens Advice warned. The average private sector tenant in England is paying £350 more a year on heating because of poorly insulated and damp homes, while those in the least efficient properties are paying an extra £950, it calculated.
