New figures from the National Landlords Association have revealed that the level of debt among Britain’s housing tenants is at its greatest level for 20 years. Hundreds of thousands of tenants are falling behind on rent payments, with a third of the Association’s members owed money by tenants. More than 20,000 calls have been made to the Association in the past year as landlords grow anxious about rent arrears .
The rising debts are being attributed to rising unemployment and the tightened availability of credit, as lenders have become wary of approving risky loans and credit card companies punish those in debt with hefty interest rates .
Another factor which has contributed to this rise in debt has been that housing benefit is now paid directly to tenants, rather than to the landlords. This has meant that the money can be used to pay off other bills, whilst benefits can also take as long as two months to come through.
Both landlords and tenants are lamenting their stressful situations, though the government has called on landlords to be sympathetic to tenants who have been unable to pay their rent as a result of redundancies.
Debt Amongst Tenants at Highest Level for Twenty Years
Wed, 06 May 2009
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