- 41% of private renters had to ration gas and electricity due to substandard properties.
- About a third of renters struggled to heat their homes to a comfortable temperature.
- 34% don’t speak out about their energy bill struggles due to stigma and embarrassment.
Consumer group Citizens Advice has said landlords and tenants need more support when it comes to repairing and upgrading properties as research shows that 41% of private renters in England and Wales were forced to ration gas and electricity last winter.
According to the group, about 4.5 million private renters struggled to pay their energy bills last winter, a figure that could well increase this year as 57% of private renters live in homes with an EPC rating below C.
The lower a property’s EPC rating, the harder and more expensive it is to heat, and homes that have the minimum rating of E spent an extra £317 on energy bills last winter. This extra cost could have been avoided if their homes had an EPC rating of C.
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Another 32%, about 3.5 million people, or a third of private renters, struggled to heat their home to a comfortable temperature. This has resulted in people skipping hot meals or limiting heating to a single room.
Dame Clare Moriarty, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said that the group is bracing for more calls this winter from renters “trapped in cold, leaky homes”.
“It’s unacceptable that so many tenants are afraid to ask for the very basics – like fixing draughty doors, or replacing poor quality single-glazed windows,” Moriarty said.
Government initiatives such as Warm Homes Plan are designed to make it easier for people to heat their homes. Ministers have also promised new rules that require landlords to upgrade properties to a minimum EPC C rating by 2030, and Citizens Advice warns that delaying reform any longer would trap renters in unaffordable living situations.
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Citizens Advice also said that 29% of renters avoid asking their landlord for essential maintenance services out of fear of rent hikes. Among those who have had these discussions, 7% were outright refused and 13% said that the fixes were conditional to new stipulations such as a rent increase.
To prevent this, the group has called for greater enforcement of the Renters’ Rights Bill to give tenants the security they need to ask for upgrades and make sure landlords can get the financial support to do so.
According to Moriarty, renters must “urgently be given the security they deserve so they can ask landlords to fix substandard housing without fear of retaliation”.
Emily Wise, Energy Adviser at Citizens Advice North Lancashire, said many of the renters the group helps day-to-day say their landlords are “hesitant to fix the substandard conditions they live in”.
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“Leaky, cold and damp housing is a huge problem in our local area, as many homes are particularly deteriorated due to salty sea air and high winds,” she explained.
Wise said this is forcing renters to “spend disproportionately” on gas and electricity to achieve “basic levels of comfort” but don’t talk to their landlord about it because they worry about their rent going up.
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Four-out-of-ten don’t seek professional advice
On top of Citizens’ Advice’s findings, separate data from British Gas has found that nearly 40% of people don’t seek professional advice or support when struggling to pay their energy bills, a figure that has increased from 35% since 2024. .
The responses from a poll of 2,000 adults revealed that 35% sometimes struggle to pay their energy bills, but stigma and embarrassment around asking for help is the main reason 34% don’t speak to anyone about it. This figure is an increase of six percentage points, with only 28% of respondents citing it as a cause in 2024.
Respondents aged between 25-34 were most likely to state this as a barrier, at 47%. About 35% don’t seek support as they mistakenly believe they won’t qualify and 23% say that the application process to receive any sort of help is too complicated.
The most challenging bills to pay are gas and electric, according to 26% of survey takers, followed by water (11%) and council tax (1%). Research also showed that homeowners are struggling to pay their energy bills more than renters, with 41% versus 21% finding difficulty doing so.
The poll was part of British Gas’ independent charitable trust British Gas Energy Trust. It has partnered with the Post Office and 20 local money and energy advice charities in an effort to give people practical, in-person support on budgeting, managing energy debt and applying for grants.
For those willing to seek support, 31% turn to friends and family first, followed by 23% who look to energy provider payment plans.
The poll also found that 54% of respondents would welcome advice from a trusted local money and energy advice company, believing it would make it easier to receive support. On the other hand, 54% are also likely to go straight to their energy provider if the situation arose.
But, a majority of respondents (62%) believe that there should be more Government support and charity programmes available to help manage rising energy costs as the cost of living crisis continues.
Jessica Taplin, Chief Executive of British Gas Energy Trust, said the energy provider’s partnership with the Post Office to offer drop-in sessions with practical advice on budgeting, managing bills, and how to access funds. There will be 120 free drop-in events at 20 Post Offices across the UK over the next year.
