‘There are 60 other applicants for every house’: the rental crisis pushing single mothers to extremes

Single parents, 82% of whom are sole-parent mothers, are feeling the strain; many leaving relationships also have trouble showing any rental history. Photograph: Leontura/Getty Images

When Liang’s* landlords told her last year that they were going to sell the house she lived in, they gave her more notice than most – a full six months.

It was the only thing that allowed her to get ahead.