Renters lose confidence in covering housing costs

Research from HSBC and housing charity Shelter has found that one in five people feel less confident than they did six months ago about being able to pay their rent or mortgage on time for the rest of the year. The survey of more than 2,100 adults across the UK shows that those in the 35 to 54 age bracket were the most likely to have lost confidence, with 28% feeling this way. Renters were also found to be particularly worried about making ends meet, with 65% saying they often worry about how they are going to cover all costs, compared with 38% of homeowners.

The research revealed record high rents and a lack of genuinely affordable social homes means millions of people are struggling to cope with rising living costs. At least 271,000 people in England were homeless at the end of 2022, and more people are at risk of losing their home in the cost of living crisis.

One person every minute accesses Shelter’s cost of living crisis web advice; while 70% of callers to Shelter’s emergency helpline say the cost of living crisis is making their housing situation worse. On average, more than 1000 calls a day are made to Shelter’s emergency helpline, and the cost of living crisis is making housing issues worse for many.3 The partnership will enable Shelter’s helpline advisers to provide expert housing advice to 40,000 more people who are at risk of losing their homes and help signpost them to further financial support from specialist services.

Eight in ten callers to Shelter’s emergency helpline are already homeless or at imminent risk of it. Shelter wants to reach more people before they reach this point to help them understand their rights and access vital support to prevent homelessness. Through the partnership, Shelter will work with people with lived experience to develop digital guidance and tools to build people’s financial resilience, reaching one million people who are struggling to afford their home.

The figures were revealed as HSBC and housing and homelessness charity Shelter announced a new multi-year partnership to support the financial health of people and communities during the cost of living crisis.

In collaboration with the Financial Wellbeing Team at HSBC UK, Shelter will train over 1,250 volunteers from the financial services industry to deliver resilience training and signpost people to housing advice. This will help build financial resilience in local communities, reaching people where they are in community spaces, such a food banks and debt advice centres.

Local pilot projects, initially in Birmingham and Blackburn, Lancashire, will target intervention in communities, reaching over 3,000 people who are at higher risk of homelessness, such as single-parent families, marginalised people and people with complex needs. Working together with people with lived experience and other charities, Shelter will co-produce the support programme to improve access to support, build financial resilience and challenge discrimination within the housing system.

Ian Stuart, CEO, HSBC UK said “Our No Fixed Address service has been an important tool in breaking the vicious circle of homelessness, helping people access the financial services they need. But we know that if we’re to make an even bigger impact people need access to support before they get into severe issues with paying their rent or mortgage.”

“Early intervention is critical; the faster we can be alerted to an issue the more can be done to help. Among our own customers we’ve seen this approach work, with 20% uplift in customers bringing their accounts back up to date in key areas such as mortgages when we work with them early enough.”

“I’m really proud to launch this key partnership between HSBC UK and Shelter. Together, we will help more people access guidance and meaningful support – building greater resilience for some of the UK’s most vulnerable people, and better financial health for the UK.””

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter said “Access to a safe and secure home means everything. It’s as vital as education or healthcare. But right now, a lack of genuinely affordable social homes, rapidly rising rents and ballooning bills is leaving hundreds of thousands of people at risk of homelessness. Every day our frontline services hear from people who are really struggling and don’t know how they’re going to pay their rent or put food on their table.”

“Together with HSBC UK, we’ve already helped thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness to access a bank account and rebuild their lives through our Breaking the Cycle programme. But our ambition is to do more to stop people from becoming homeless in the first place. That’s why we’re thrilled to be deepening our partnership with HSBC UK so that we can reach more people at risk of losing their homes, and work with communities before they reach crisis point.”