300,000 In The North East Struggle With Rent

4 January 2013, 06:31 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Homeless charity Shelter say 300 thousand people in the North East are struggling to meet rent or mortgage payments every month.

That's the equivalent of 1 in 5 people.

Nationally, around 7.8 million Britons are struggling to keep up with their rent or mortgage payments - a sharp increase on a year ago.

Shelter also estimates that almost one million people took out a payday loan over the last 12 months to help them cover their mortgage or rent.

Just over 2% of people it surveyed said they had taken out a high-interest payday loan for this purpose, equating to around 979,000 people if the figures were projected nationally.

The charity said that the number of people constantly struggling to pay their rent or mortgage had increased by 44% over the past year, with a fifth of those surveyed, equating to 7.8 million Britons, facing a monthly battle to keep a roof over their heads.

Some 4% of rent or mortgage payers said they had fallen behind with their payments, which would be 1.4 million people at a national level.

Around 7% of those surveyed said they used an unauthorised overdraft to help them cover their costs, and one in 10 of these people said they did so every month.

Shelter's research was taken from a survey of 4,000 people across Britain.

Rents have soared over the last year as tenants have remained trapped in the rental sector, because they have been unable to meet lenders' toughened criteria or raise the typical 20% deposit needed to buy their first homes.

More than a million homeowners also saw their mortgage costs increase in recent months after several lenders raised their standard variable rates (SVRs).

Households are set to come under further pressure this winter from soaring energy bills, following a string of price hikes by companies.

Campbell Robb, Shelter's chief executive, said:
"It's shocking to think that so many families will be starting the New Year with a huge weight hanging over them, trapped in a daily struggle to keep their home.

Payday loans may seem like a quick fix, but the huge interest charges mean things can quickly spiral out of control.

It's vital that anyone who's having difficulty paying their rent or mortgage gets advice now.

Don't wait until things reach breaking point later in the year - it could leave your family's home at risk."

Russell Hamblin-Boone, chief executive of short-term lending trade body the Consumer Finance Association (CFA), said:
"We would question that a survey of just 101 payday loan users is an accurate representation of the entire payday market and it is not the message we hear day in and day out from our customers.

What is true is that with rising fuel costs, food prices, council tax and rent, household budgets are tighter than ever and there is very little slack to cover unexpected expenses.

As a result, many people value the simplicity, transparency and flexibility of being able to borrow on a short-term basis to help manage their expenditure.

We would stress, however, that a payday loan is a short-term option only and should never be used to try to fix larger, long-term debt problems.''