Members of Feeding Britain – an all-party group of MPs – have called for there to be a legal requirement for landlords to provide basic cooking appliances.
The group has also suggested that any landlord who fails to provide at least a fridge and hob for their tenants should have their licence revoked.
Despite widespread optimism in Britain’s economic recovery, the group has raised concerns that many low-income tenants have no option but to live on expensive processed meals and takeaway food, primarily because the property they live in does not have suitable cooking facilities.
With the aim of tackling the rise of food poverty across the UK, the all-party parliamentary group has written to ministers with a request that councils are given the power to ensure landlords provide a fridge and a two-ring electrical hob, in each of their properties, as the bare minimum.
According to a report by the Church of England, which was one of the main reasons behind the group’s urgent call for action, many low-income tenants in a privately rented home only have access to a microwave oven.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has faced recent criticism for failing to ensure that the promises it made in 2014 – to improve the benefits system, to halve demand for food banks – were kept.
Any landlords that do not currently provide cooking facilities of a certain standard for their tenants are being advised to seek advice following any relevant legislation changes.