Nearly 90% of social tenants receiving Universal Credit
(UC) are in rent arrears because of a seven-week wait for the first payment.
Research shows tenants have fallen into “shocking” levels of arrears since the
scheme started to be rolled out nationally in April last year. A survey of 36
landlords found the proportion of tenants receiving UC in rent arrears was
three times the sector average rate of 31% because of systemic problems with
the scheme. It showed 89% of 2,000 new UC recipients were in arrears and, of
these, 34% were subject to an Alternative Payment Arrangement (APA) which
passes rent directly to landlords after accruing more than eight weeks of
arrears. It also revealed tenants were suffering financial hardship, with some
landlords reporting tenants turning to loan sharks to cover their costs during
the seven-week wait for the first UC payment. Read more on the ARCH website.
No comments:
Post a Comment