A SINGLE mother has called for a cap on “shock rent rises” after her landlord gave just a month’s notice for a £100 hike.

Bridget Chapman, 56, warned that the Renters Rights Bill going through Parliament won’t prevent other families ending up in her situation.

Ms Chapman, from Darlington in County Durham, has launched an online petition calling for the cap as the proposed legislation does “nothing to stop shock rent rises” like she is facing.

More than two in three renters have been asked to pay a higher rent by their landlords in the past year, research by campaign group Generation Rent says.

Almost a quarter reported an increase of more than £100.

Ms Chapman has been renting her home for eight years after extreme dampness in her previous accommodation led her to being treated in hospital with pneumonia.

The hike has left her suffering a “huge blow” to her security.

She said: “I’m a single parent, so even though my kids are now adults they’re still young and I’m still supporting them.

“I have a very low disposable income so it’s really difficult especially since everything else has gone up including gas and electricity.

“The government firstly needs to cap rent increases. They also need to look at capping gas and electricity bills.

“Wages are not going up, so people are struggling even more, because they’re on the same wage and they pay more money for everything else.

“You get people who are working hard, full-time, and they’re having to go to food banks. I think that’s so wrong.”

Generation Rent says its research shows the “most common” reason landlords put up rent is not higher costs, but rather to increase their revenue as local rents rise.

“This is indefensible. If renters are to finally feel secure in our own homes, we need protections from shock rent rises,” a Generation Rent spokesperson said.

“Private landlords should not be able to raise the rent higher than inflation or wages. The government can and must act to change this.”

The Bill seeks to introduce an end to no-fault evictions, stopping bidding wars for tenancies, helping tenants challenge unreasonable rent increases and preventing landlords from demanding more than a month’s rent in advance from a new tenant.

Communist Party housing expert Lorraine Douglas said that it calls for “the reinstatement of rent controls and full regulation of the private rented sector.”

“The abolition of rent regulation and security of tenure for private tenants by the Thatcher government was the first step in the destruction of renters' rights which led to the growth of a private rented sector motivated by profit rather than meeting an essential social need,” she added.

A government spokesperson said the Bill takes “decisive action” to transform the private renting sector.

See here for Ms Chapman’s petition https://www.change.org/p/introduce-caps-on-how-much-landlords-can-raise-rent-protect-struggling-families-like-mine