Renters forced to ration energy use to afford bills

MORE than two in five private renters in England and Wales had to ration gas and electricity to afford their energy bills last’ winter, Citizens Advice said.

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A third of private renters - 32%, or 3.5 million people - struggled to heat their home to a comfortable temperature, a survey for the advisory service suggests.

‘The charity said this forced people to take “drastic measures” such as skipping hot meals, wearing gloves inside and limiting heating to just one room.

Heat leaking from “shoddy” homes was “burning a hole in renters’ pockets - something they have no power to fix”.

Last month, Citizens Advice warned that this summer's heatwaves left millions of people losing sleep, paying higher bills and suffering deteriorating health in homes not built to cope with rising temperatures.