More people are renting privately in Ceredigion, Powys and Gwynedd than a decade ago, new figures show.

The latest figures from the 2021 Census come as a housing campaign group calls on the government to come good on its promise of a better deal for private tenants.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show 6,371 households were renting privately in Ceredigion when the census was carried out in March 2021 – 20.6 per cent of the 30,891 households in the area.

At the time of the previous census in March 2011, 19.9 per cent of households were private renters – meaning that the share has increased over the past decade.

In Powys, 10,760 households were renting privately at the time of the census – 17.9 per cent of the 60,182 households in the county. The March 2011 census showed 14.8 per cent of households were private renters.

And in Gwynedd, 8,865 households were renting privately in March 2021 – 17.3 per cent of the county's 51,105 households. In March 2011, 15.4 per cent of households were private renters.

Across England and Wales there are now 5 million private renters (20.3 per cent of households), up from 3.9 million (16.7 per cent) in 2011.

Dan Wilson Craw, deputy director of the housing campaign Generation Rent, said these tenants are “paying high rents to private landlords, face a much greater risk of living in a poor-quality home, and live with the threat of eviction at short notice”.

He added that despite the government recognising the need for reforms in the sector – such as abolishing so-called 'no-fault' evictions – it is yet introduce legislation to properly support private tenants.

Separate figures from the ONS show that median private rent in Wales was £550 a month as of March 2021.

Shelter, a charity that tackles homelessness, said the "only lasting solution" to the housing crisis is to build more social homes.

Polly Neate, chief executive of the charity, said: “It’s time for the Government to invest in a new generation of good quality social homes with genuinely affordable rents pegged to local incomes.”

Across England and Wales, there has been little change in the amount of social housing in the past decade – while the number of households in social homes increased from 4.1 million to 4.2 million, the proportion actually fell, from 17.6 per cent of households to 17.1 per cent.

The census figures also suggest it may be getting harder to join the housing ladder.

The number of households owning their home through a mortgage, loan or shared ownership has dropped across England and Wales, from 7.8 million (33.5 per cent of households) in 2011 to 7.4 million (29.7 per cent) last year.

The same was true of Ceredigion, where the share of households with mortgages or shared ownership fell from 24.1% in 2011 to 21% last year.

It was also the case in Powys, where the share fell from 25.1 per cent in 2011 to 21.2 per cent last year, and in Gwynedd where it fell from 25.4 per cent in 2011 to 22.2 per cent last year.

A spokesperson for the Department of Levelling up, Housing and Communities said: “Ensuring a fair deal for renters remains apriority for the government, that’s why we will deliver on our commitment to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and introduce a Renters Reform Bill in this Parliament."