Supplementary evidence from the National
Housing Federation following the oral evidence session on 1 June
2009
RENT ARREARS
At the recent evidence session of the CLG Select
Committee inquiry into Housing and the Credit Crunch, you asked
me whether rent arrears have increased significantly since the
economic downturn began. Unfortunately, I did not have any figures
on this with me on the day of the session but I agreed to investigate
the issue and write to you.
Rent arrears figures for the sector are reported
on annually by housing associations to the Tenants Services Authority
at the end of the financial year as part of the Global Accounts.
However, that means that the most recent figures that are available
are as of 31 March 2008. They show that rent arrears increased
from 3.6% in 2007 to 3.9% in 2008.
Official figures for the period 1 April 2008 to 31
March 2009 are audited before they are submitted to the TSA and
will be likely to be available nearer the end of this year or
early next year. Since most commentators judged the recession
to have officially started in January 2009, after two quarters
of consecutive negative growth in the second half of 2008, rent
arrears figures are therefore not yet available for the period
of economic downturn.
However, in judging the impact of the economic
downturn, it is worth considering that 48% of housing association
tenants have their full rent paid for from housing benefit (93%
of whom have their benefit paid direct to their association) and
64% receive all or part of their rent from housing benefit (2004
figures). These tenants are therefore less likely to fall into
arrears as a result of economic conditions because they have all
or part of their rent paid for and this will inevitably lessen
the impact of economic conditions on rent arrears figures.
June 2009
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