Citizens Advice warns of rise in social housing rent arrears cases
The number of social housing rent arrears cases reported to Citizens Advice rose 13% in July to September 2013 compared to the same period the previous year, the charity has reported.
Citizens Advice said its network gave advice on 22,412 such issues during the period, with the number of cases up in every region of England.
The charity also advised on:
- 2,840 issues about possessions claims due to rent arrears in the social housing sector – up 38%;
- 2,736 issues about threatened homelessness in social housing – up 12%;
- 3,307 issues about discretionary housing payments – up 110%.
Citizens Advice suggested that changes to the under-occupancy rules (dubbed the ‘bedroom tax’), combined with changes to council tax support, had “contributed heavily” to rent arrears problems.
Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: “We are on the edge of a serious housing crisis. There are simply not enough homes to meet need and the result is yet more pressure on household budgets.
“Despite the good news, the economic warning lights are still flashing. The emerging trend of increasing social housing arrears is extremely worrying.”
Guy added: “The impact of welfare reform is crucial. Done right, reforms such as Universal Credit could simplify support and incentivise work.However what we’ve seen in recent months is what can happen if reforms are rushed in without proper safety net in place.
“The debate over our state safety net must move away from the idea that it is entirely about money. Direct financial support is essential in helping people meet day-to-day costs, but the long-term importance of getting infrastructure right, particularly housing, cannot be ignored.”
The North East and West Midlands are the worst hit English regions per head of population and the steepest year-on-year rises were in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber, the charity said.
