Vulnerable young people forced to the streets by ‘unfair’ rental market
Charities have warned that many young people are finding themselves dependent on crisis services due to homelessness, unsafe conditions or the “unfair” rental sector.
Vulnerable young people are being turned away by landlords because of their age, occupation, lack of guarantor or connection to a homelessness service, the charity EveryYouth has found.
The group organizes a network of 10 youth homelessness charities across the UK. A study of these services showed that young people were most often discriminated against because of not having a family member who could vouch for them (90 percent), followed by their income level despite being able to pay the rent (70 percent).
Kalvin, 18, said he struggled to find a landlord who would accept him and eventually referred himself to a homelessness charity in Devon after a period where he could barely sleep while at work.
Originally from Glasgow, Kalvin says he moved to Devon for a “fresh start” and worked as an apprentice in the automotive industry for two years.
Although he wasn’t earning very much (the wage for an under-18 apprentice in the UK is £7.55 per hour), he was earning at least £1,000 a month. This would be enough to live in a one-bedroom flat or flat for an average price of £597 in North Devon. Even so, Kalvin says finding a place to rent is impossible.
He said: “There were many occasions when I saw a place I really liked and they wouldn’t accept me because I was too young. It was very difficult to get somewhere I could stay and call home.”
“Places say ‘you’re too young’, ‘you’re paid a certain way’ or ‘you’re not paid enough’ and question your income. This stresses me out a lot.”
Kalvin added that he could not trust his family with money. The 18-year-old, who is now living in supported accommodation provided by the Amber Foundation, part of the EveryYouth network, said he was “actually interested in university now and they are helping me with that”, adding that he would be doing his GCSEs so he could pursue a course in IT.
From May this year, new protections for tenants will come into force under the Tenants’ Rights Act. This would tackle discrimination by making it illegal for landlords to refuse tenants benefits or take in children, and by requiring them to provide a legal reason for eviction.
But EveryYouth chief executive Nicholas Connolly said there were “real concerns” that this would not benefit young renters and could even have a knock-on effect.
He said: “This will place greater obligations on landlords and ultimately they will try harder to avoid those obligations. And there are many ways to discriminate legally.”
“The young people we support have no savings, little or no family support, and nothing to fall back on. Those we support work in homelessness services but at some point they have to give it up. There is no social housing for most of them.
“So the only option is the private rental sector, and unless there is additional support that recognizes that they don’t have the social or economic capital that other people in the community have, they won’t be able to go anywhere to live.”
Rosie, 19, works full-time in a pub in Hampshire for 35 to 45 hours a week. When she was 17, she left her “toxic and abusive” family home and moved into supported accommodation provided by EveryYouth’s partner charity, Step by Step.
When she was ready to live independently, Rosie began looking for a private rental with the help of her support worker. It took eight months for a landlord to accept him.
Rosie said: “I was repeatedly rejected because of my age or because my application included the Step by Step option [as my current address]. One [landlord] They told me flat out that they didn’t want to take me because ‘They know what kind of people come to Step by Step’ and the other landlords said ‘We don’t think this house share is for you’.
“I’ve been working full time since I was 17. It feels pretty condescending. I can’t help the situation I’m in. Landlords are supposed to think about how much you earn and whether you can pay the rent. Instead they just think about the fact that I’m under 20.”
EveryYouth said it was calling on the government to strengthen protections against age-related discrimination by imposing meaningful penalties on landlords who discriminate.
It also calls for greater incentives for landlords to provide tenancies to vulnerable young people, such as council-backed guarantors or deposit assistance schemes, which could help them leave supported or temporary accommodation more quickly.
A spokesman for the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Discriminating against anyone based on their age is completely unacceptable.
“We have already taken action to stop discrimination against people who receive benefits or have young children through the Tenants Bill of Rights.
“We will keep any action to extend these powers under review to ensure everyone has a safe and decent home.”
