> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://housing-base.journalismarena.eu/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://housing-base.journalismarena.eu/access-to-housing/media-stories/2019/the-private-renters-trapped-in-britains-new-slums-the-guardian-13-april-2019.md). # The private renters trapped in Britain’s new slums (The Guardian, 13 Apr 2019) * **The private renters trapped in Britain’s new slums** * By Tom Wall. Published in the Guardian on 13 April 2019 * * **Summary**: * The stark human cost of Britain’s decade-long austerity drive, welfare reforms and warped housing priorities can be glimpsed in 11 decaying flats carved from what was once a grand Victorian terrace home in Weston-super-Mare. (...) * These are the new slums of Britain – a tenure of unsafe and unaffordable housing with few routes out. The people trapped here would have once have had the chance of moving into [relatively spacious, well-equipped council homes](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/20/council-houses-were-once-a-glory-of-the-public-realm-lets-return-to-those-days) at genuinely affordable rents. But, due to the failure of successive governments [to build enough social housing](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/mar/25/too-poor-to-play-children-in-social-housing-blocked-from-communal-playground), that is an option open only for a vanishingly small minority of people in the most extreme circumstances. * Exclusive analysis of official figures by the academic duo at the forefront of research into the private rental sector, Julie Rugg and David Rhodes, shows that **90% of the 1.4 million households renting on low incomes in England are being put at risk by harmful living conditions and/or pushed further into poverty and possible eviction by rents they cannot afford.** * **Nearly 30% are living in non-decent homes, 10% are** [**living in overcrowded properties**](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/31/overcrowding-social-housing-england) **and 85% are in “after housing cost poverty”**, which means their rent pushes them below the poverty line. * **Keywords**: slums, England, United Kingdom, UK, housing crisis, affordability, rental market, social housing, Julie Rugg, David Rhodes --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://housing-base.journalismarena.eu/access-to-housing/media-stories/2019/the-private-renters-trapped-in-britains-new-slums-the-guardian-13-april-2019.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.