Blog: An Inescapable Crisis: Fuel Poverty in the Private Rented Sector
This blog from Carolyn Snell and Nicholas Pleace accompanies a new policy brief and explores how households in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) have been especially impacted by the energy crisis.

Our most recent research, sought to understand the experiences of tenants who are renting privately, looking at how they have managed spiralling rents and household costs, most notably home energy. Many tenants we spoke to described desperate situations where they had been ‘pushed over the edge’ by the energy crisis. Some had given up their tenancies to avoid eviction or cope with high rents. Others described the shock and impact of rapidly rising energy costs, prompting many to take drastic measures to cope with their bills.
Everyone we spoke to had taken action to cut energy bills, with many ‘turning off’ rather than ‘turning down’, including Adam*, a teacher, who told us: ‘So we had to turn off our heating. Energy bills have escalated’. Our qualitative research confirms and adds depth to concerns raised by others (Hirsch 2024; Keung and Bradshaw 2022; NEA 2024) - that the energy crisis has had a very wide impact - with more people than ever experiencing fuel poverty. This has included rationing energy use in the home, being constantly cold, wearing more clothes in the home (someone we spoke to in a previous project described his family as the ‘hoodie household’), changing cooking and eating habits, and only using some rooms of the house. Aside from trying to save money on energy bills, the people we spoke to were taking on more paid work where they could, but were also making difficult decisions about their living arrangements - for example, staying in broken down relationships to save money on rent. These changes in behaviour are not just from groups with long standing experience of fuel poverty, but have begun to include those in full-time, well-paid employment.
For many, living in a private rental property has made this situation even harder. For example, when we asked Alice* about what it was like living in her rented house, she said: ‘It’s got mould and rubbish windows and the front door is terrible but the landlord won’t replace it and I don’t want to keep asking’. Unfortunately, Alice’s situation reflects an increasing number of tenants living in private properties. Emerging national data has suggested that the cost-of-living crisis has disproportionately affected tenants (Citizens Advice 2024; 2022), and has crept up the income scale, impacting those previously ‘getting by' (Hirsch 2024).
Private landlords and the condition of private rented properties is a distinct issue here, with high energy bills being made worse by housing that is in a poor state of repair, with outdated or faulty heating systems, and drafty doors, windows and floors. While living in private rented housing shouldn’t stop tenants from requesting repairs and improvements, and there are even grants available for some upgrades, we found cases where tenants were reluctant to approach their landlord in case this led to a rent increase, and other cases where landlords simply refused to act. Additionally, no one we spoke to had successfully applied for and received any financial support with their energy bills
In our policy brief we argue that people renting privately have faced increased risks during the cost of living crisis e.g. rent increases, evictions, disrepair) (Citizens Advice 2024; 2022, see also Ambrose 2015), and they have had less control over their living conditions. We argue that the private rented sector needs urgent attention to improve energy efficiency (alongside a need for better maintenance). Our brief corresponds with the Government’s recent consultation on energy performance that explores ways of improving energy efficiency in the sector. It also corresponds with new legislation via the Renters’ Rights Bill 2024 which seeks to end no fault evictions, extend the Decent Homes Standard into the sector, and introduce a private landlords’ register. Whilst these suggest a move in the right direction, at least in terms of policy narratives, we argue that there is much more that needs to be done within this space, and at a much more urgent pace.
*This research was funded by the University of York’s Research England Policy Support Fund, distributed by The York Policy Engine via the University of York Cost of Living Research Group.
**names have been changed to preserve anonymity.