Rent arrears ‘more than double’ since 2007
12/12/2013
Figures from the debt charity, Money Advice Trust (MAT), have revealed that the number of people falling behind on rent payments has more than doubled in the last six years.
The MAT has labelled this a “rent debt crisis” and has said that it has received just shy of 20,000 calls in the first nine months of the year from people who have fallen behind with rent. This compares horribly to the 8,000 calls received over the same period in 2007, and even higher amounts are expected to seek help over the expensive Christmas period.
The amount of people calling MAT for issues regarding renting has also jumped by 37% over the last 2 years and 12% in the last 12 months. The charity said that more than half the calls it now receives are regarding those renting.
Joanna Elson, chief executive at the MAT, said: “The long-term trend for rising rent prices is clear, and its impact on the debt landscape is significant.
“Rent arrears are now the fastest growing debt problem we help people with at National Debtline (part of MAT), and we are in danger of falling into a rent debt crisis”, she continued.
Earlier this week we revealed the news that energy bills and other household expenditure ,including rent, now tops the list of weekly outgoings for families, overtaking the cost of travelling for the first time.
Despite this, Rightmove has revealed that a third of people renting in the UK are planning to buy a home in 2014, with nearly a quarter looking to take advantage of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme.
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