MPs have warned that a national strategy for renting in later life is needed urgently

Hundreds of thousands of pensioners could be forced out of their homes in the coming years because they cannot afford their rent, MPs have warned.

There could be 1.5 million pensioners in the private rented sector in the next two decades but they will struggle to pay rising costs, according to the all-party parliamentary group on housing and care for older people.

The group, led by Lord Best, the former head of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has released a report which estimates that an extra 1.1 million low-cost rented homes will be needed for older people by the late 2040s. It calls on the next prime minister to prioritise low-cost rented housing.

About a fifth of people over 65 are tenants. That proportion is due