Debt on the Rise Because Tenants’ Incomes Have Been Squeezed

Above average CPI rises in food, fuel and transport in recent years have effectively reduced tenants’ incomes by one fifth in real terms. To keep their homes going, 1 in 4 rely on payday loan companies, doorstep money lenders, pawnbrokers or shops supplying household goods at ruinous rates of interest. Fifty-five per cent of indebted tenants owe more than £1,000, with 19 per cent owing over £6,000 and 14 per cent more than £10,000.  For one third, debts are unmanageable. One in five tenants always have to go without necessities, such as food and heating, to service debt. And debt is the third largest household expenditure item, after food and heating, taking 18p out of every pound. Read more on the NHF website.