Millions of people are living in damp and draughty rented homes, according to Citizens Advice – and it’s affecting their health.

New research from the consumer charity shows 1.6 million children currently live in privately rented homes with damp, mould or excessive cold. It estimates that more than half of private renters in England – 2.7 million households – are struggling with one or more of these issues right now.

Some private sector tenants are paying an extra £950 a year just to keep warm, while 30% of renters say they can’t heat their home to a comfortable temperature. For disabled tenants, this increases to 45%.

Better energy efficiency needed

Citizens Advice is calling for minimum energy efficiency standards to be raised. It says this will slash bills and help reduce the public health concerns caused by cold, damp and mouldy homes.

The charity said that private tenants are 73% more likely to be living with damp if they live in a property with a Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D-G rather than A-C. While tenants are 89% more likely to experience excessive cold in a D-G rated property than A-C. EPCs measure how efficient a property is – with EPC A being the best rating.

It added that those in the least efficient homes could pay ‘a terrifying £1,190 more a year to keep warm’.

Forty percent of renters say they have felt stressed as a result of damp, mould and excessive cold, with 36% saying it made them feel anxious.

Set stricter timelines

Citizens Advice is also calling on the government to bring regulation of the private rental sector in line with social housing by following the lead set by Awaab’s law. This piece of legislation will place strict, legally binding timelines on social landlords to deal with serious issues such as damp and mould.

The charity added that this can’t happen in isolation. It said the government must follow through on its proposals to ensure all new private rental properties are upgraded to a minimum EPC C by 2025 and existing tenancies by 2028.

Gillian Cooper, head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, said: “Every week we hear stories of people living in cold, damp and mouldy properties they can’t afford to heat properly.

“It’s shameful that more than 20 years since legislation came into force to reduce fuel poverty and improve the energy performance of homes, people are still suffering.

“Improving energy efficiency in privately rented homes has never been more urgent. It’s the step needed to keep people’s essential bills low, while also helping to protect their mental and physical health.”