Serious rent arrears falls 4%

The LSL Property Services Tenant Arrears Tracker has recorded a 4% fall in serious rent arrears.

• 3,100 fewer households were in serious rent arrears in Q1 compared to Q4 – a 4% fall. 
• Eviction orders fell by 3% in Q1. 
• Just 1% of UK renters are in serious arrears – (86,200 households down from 89,300 in Q4) 

LSL's Adrian Gill comments: 

“Fewer tenants in serious arrears reflect the health of the jobs market. With an extra 44,000 jobs created in the first quarter of this year, thousands of tenants have been able to get their finances back on track and pay down late rent. Serious rent arrears peaked in Q3 2012, when 124,800 households owed more than two months’ rent – and when unemployment in the UK stood at 7.9%. Since then a boom in employment has been responsible for lifting many of the most precarious tenant households out of serious rent arrears and onto a more sustainable course. The direction of travel looks very positive.

A reduced risk of serious rent arrears will be welcome news for existing landlords, facing so many artificial challenges posed by government meddling. But no-one should be complacent – managing a property is never simple. Some landlords are being held back from buying property by the Stamp Duty Surcharge. If this stems the flow of new homes into the rental market, then shortages in some areas could push up rents – hitting affordability.”

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