Half of tenants worried about paying rent

12 2008
A growing number of tenants across the UK are struggling to pay their rent every month, a worrying new study has revealed.

Earlier this week consumer groups expressed their concerns over the possible implications of yet more increases to gas and electricity tariffs, with water bills also set to follow suit and go up.

Now research carried out by the insurer AXA has found that seven per cent of private tenants have fallen into arrears over the past three months, over 50 per cent more than the number that had done so in the preceding 12 month period.

What's more, of those tenants questioned, more than half admitted that they becoming increasingly apprehensive about their ability to make their rental commitments, particularly as the cost of living keeps rising.

"Our research shows that over a third of people privately renting are doing so because they can't get a mortgage at the moment," Mike Keating, managing director of personal lines intermediary at AXA, said in a statement cited by Reuters.

"On the surface of it, this looks like the rental market should be buoyant. But if you consider that many of those renting may be struggling to make ends meet it is certainly not all good news for buy-to-let owners."

As well as being bad news for buy-to-let landlords, this latest report has served to once again stress the importance of finding the best rental property deal.ADNFCR-1219-ID-18727847-ADNFCR

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