NEARLY half the 1.5 million children growing up in poverty in the private rental sector are pushed into it by housing costs, new research reveals today.

The findings, compiled by the Resolution Foundation, highlight that reducing housing costs should be a core element of the government’s strategy to reduce child poverty.

According to the think tank, private renters are on average paying three times as much as mortgagors for the same amount of housing — £11 per square metre versus £3, going by 2021 figures.