A charity is calling for more funding to be given to local environmental health services to crack down on the ‘appalling’ living conditions of older people in private rented housing.
Research by Age UK found some older people in private rented housing are living in ‘squalor and distress’, with many being too afraid to complain to their landlord for fear of eviction.
The report - Ageing in squalor and distress – outlined how damp and mould are going unchecked, and essential repairs to heating and cooking facilities were not being carried out. It also found some landlords refused to allow the installation of aids and adaptions to help older people live at home.
Age UK said more resources should be given to local environmental health services to ensure the law is properly enforced and improve local housing advice for older people.
Charity director, Caroline Abrahams, said: 'The law is far too feeble and the withering away of local environmental health services is making the problem worse. As it is, the bottom end of the private rented sector is no place for a vulnerable older person, but if that is what we believe as a society we need to do something about it and create better alternatives.
'Our first and immediate priority though should be to improve the appalling plight of older tenants like those described in our report.'
