More tenants facing severe rent arrears

LSL Property Services estimates that around 4,000 more private sector tenants slipped into severe arrears – meaning that they were more than two months behind with their rent – in the first quarter of this year.

LSL said this represents a five per cent increase on the previous quarter and brings the total number of tenants with severe arrears to around 94,000 across England and Wales, accounting for 2.3 per cent of all tenancies.

The network, which owns national chains Your Move and Reeds Rains, as well as receivers Templeton LPA, based its projections on the thousands of properties it manages across the country.

Its findings suggest that, while the overall proportion of tenants in arrears has fallen slightly in recent months, within this general improved trend a significant number of people are seeing their finances worsen and are sinking into serious debt.

Previous research recently released by LSL into tenant arrears found that overall around seven per cent of all rents were late or unpaid in February this year, which is the lowest figure seen since last November.

Rents have soared due to strong demand as tenants have found themselves trapped in the sector, because they have been unable to raise a deposit to buy a home or meet lenders’ borrowing criteria.