Research published by the Resolution Foundation suggests that
some 750,000 families are behind with their housing payments.
The research examines how families have managed their housing
costs over the Covid-19 period and finds that although the
Government has done much to support families over the past year
(not least via the furlough scheme and the £20 per week uplift to
Universal Credit), the financial strain has grown as the pandemic
has worn on. Using new data from a representative survey of UK
working-age adults, the report shows that housing arrears have
grown steadily over the crisis, and that renters are at the sharp
end when it comes to housing cost pressures.
Key findings of the report are:
- 9 per cent of families in the social rented sector were behind
with their housing payments in January 2021, alongside 6 per cent
of those renting privately and 2 per cent of mortgaged
homeowners.
- These percentages translate into significant numbers: over
750,000 families were behind with their housing payments in January
2021, 300,000 of which contained dependent children.
- Close to one-quarter (24 per cent) of private renters have seen
their earnings fall during the last ten months, compared to
one-in-six (16 per cent) working-age adults with a mortgage
- The survey shows that twice as many privately-renting families
entered the pandemic with no savings compared to mortgaged
homeowners (22 per cent and 11 per cent respectively)
- Despite widespread calls for forbearance in the face of the
Covid-19 shock, only 3 per cent of private renting families have
been able to negotiate a lower rent over the last ten months (a
further 5 per cent have been refused), compared to one-in-ten (10
per cent) families with a mortgage who have received a mortgage
holiday
- More than half (56 per cent) of private renter families with
arrears are not in receipt of benefits, leaving them ineligible for
a Discretionary Housing Payment.
The Resolution Foundation make several recommendations to
Government to:
- Continue to support those on the lowest incomes by retaining
the UC uplift of £20 per week beyond the end of March 2021.
- Fund the Discretionary Housing Payment budget to at least the
same level as 2020-21, and recognising the exceptional
circumstances of the last year, allow councils to roll-over any DHP
underspend to 2021-22.
- Follow the example of Scotland and Wales and introduce a tenant
loan scheme in England for those who have built up housing debt
over the pandemic period.
- Introduce a pre-action protocol for private landlords requiring
them to take robust action to negotiate a repayment plan with
indebted tenants before proceeding to court
A copy of the full report "Getting Ahead on Falling Behind:
Tackling the UK's building arrears crisis" is available to download
from the Resolution Foundation website.