An increasing number of British families have failed to pay their rent in the last quarter of 2010 as job losses and pay decreases haunt people across the UK, a new survey reveals.
The Association of Residential Letting Agents carried out the survey whose results suggest that 4 out of 10 agents said they witnessed an increase in the number of tenants having trouble paying rent in the last quarter of 2010, up from 35.9 percent in the third quarter, British media reported.
The results of the survey also revealed that redundancies combined with reduced working hours or pay cuts had resulted in many people struggling to pay their rent.
"Without guaranteed rent income, landlords may also have problems paying mortgages”, said the association's operations manager Ian Potter.
"At worst it may result in a rise in repossessions", he added.
Housing campaigners have called for more money for affordable council homes and laws to stop private landlords from charging extortionate rents.
Meanwhile, housing charity Shelter says more than two million people have used credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent, warning that more people could be left homeless.
"We know from the cases we see every day that just one single thing, like a bout of illness, a rent increase or a drop in income, is all that's needed to push people into the spiral of debt and arrears that can lead to the loss of their home”, said Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb.
"We urge the government to think again about the cumulative effects of its policies on people who are at real risk of losing their homes”, he said.
MOL/HE
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