Tenant eviction service provider Helpland give their reaction to news of increasing rent arrears and evictions throughout the country.
(1888PressRelease) July 01, 2011 - The number of tenants in England and Wales in severe rental arrears rose 13% in Q2 2011 to 74,492, as evictions increased 9% over the same period.
Research by Templeton LPA has shown that the numbers of tenants facing eviction notices increased to 24,170 in the second quarter, as most landlords are acting quicker. This coincides with rents hitting record heights recently.
Whilst tenant arrears were up 4% on Q1, tenancies in severe arrears represent just 2.1% of all properties in the private rental sector in England and Wales.
However, the arrears have not yet filtered through to buy-to-let mortgage arrears, partly because of landlords acting quicker to take action against non-paying tenants. Figures showed that buy-to-let mortgages which are in more than three months in arrears fell 8% to 29,400 in Q2 compared to the previous quarter and were 12% down over the past year.
Nevertheless, it is noticed that there are nearly three times as many buy-to-let mortgages in severe arrears compared to three years ago.
Lee Daniels, Managing Director of Helpland Limited, The UK's leading tenant eviction specialists says "I am not surprised by the sharp increase in tenants' rent arrears. At Helpland Ltd., we have taken on more cases and served more notices month on month, especially in the last quarter."
Daniels adds "Tenants finances have been under increasing pressure due to consistently rising rents coupled with several redundancies and public sector cutbacks not to mention the record high cost of living. This looks like it is finally taking its toll"
"Tenants who are either on low income or benefits are struggling to meet their monthly payments and when they fall behind and the arrears start to mount, they do not have the means to catch up."
He said that landlords are becoming increasingly less lenient of rent arrears in the wake of strong demand for rental property and with the majority of landlords annual return coming from their rental income.
"We have also seen a dramatic increase in the speed at which landlords are acting on tenants with rent arrears. It was not unusual for landlords to wait 2-3 months before contacting us. We are now constantly being contacted by landlords whose tenants are only 1 month behind seeking advice and wanting to serve notice."
Daniels concludes "It is crucial that landlords continue to act quickly as we predict that rent arrears will continue to rise and with the eviction process taking months, landlords are urged to act as soon as possible to minimise their loss."
Tenant eviction service provider Helpland give their reaction to news of increasing rent arrears and evictions throughout the country. 
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