MORE than a quarter of a million tenant families have to take on serious debt when they move, research from charity Shelter reveals today.

Researchers found that families living in private rented accommodation face unstable, short contracts and are forced to fork out  an average £1,400 every time they move to cover removal vans, paying rent on two properties, cleaning costs and furniture.

One in four families are taking on credit card and overdraft debts, and payday loans, to cover the cost of the upheavals.

The charity warns that these debts make renters more vulnerable to changes in the economy and potential rises in interest rates.

A further 44 per cent of renting families worry about losing their home due to short, unstable contracts.

Emma, who is studying to be a teacher and rents in Folkestone with her husband and three children, said: “Currently we have about £15,000 in debt because we’re having to move home every one or two years.

“About four years ago we took out one lower interest bank loan to try and pay all these debts off, but because we’ve had to carry on moving home, the costs have racked up and again we are back to square one.”

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said: “We speak to parents every day who want nothing more than to have control over their lives, and provide stability – both financially and in a settled home – for their children, but instead are constantly forced into packing up and moving on.”

The charity, which surveyed nearly 1,000 renters for its report, is calling on the government to introduce five-year tenancies as standard in order to help renters clear their debt and give more security to millions of families.