“Urgent investment” in house building is needed to tackle housing arrears

As new figures from the Department of Work and Pensions finds that over half of tenants affected by the under-occupancy charge have fallen into arrears, Citizens Advice calls for urgent investment in new homes to bring costs down.

Citizens Advice Chief Executive, Gillian Guy, said:

“Households are under pressure from all sides. For many people, the lack of an alternative home to downsize leaves them with no option other than to fall behind on rent. In 2013, Citizens Advice saw a 26 per cent rise in the number of people at risk of having their home repossessed, whilst at least one in five of our clients paying the under-occupancy charge had fallen into debt.

“People paying the under-occupancy charge are picking up the tab for years of under-investment in house building. Whilst the policy might seem fair on paper, in the real world it simply cannot be delivered safely whilst the housing market remains so dysfunctional. The best way to reduce spending on Housing Benefit is to urgently invest in new homes to get costs down.

“Inflation continues to outpace wages, childcare remains a significant burden and house prices are soaring.  It is welcome that the storm of recession has passed, but despite the economic upturn, half of UK adults say they are going to have to cut costs to make ends meet this year, making the risk of housing arrears rising further a real risk.”

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Notes to editors:

1. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
2. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
3. To find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk. You can also get advice online at adviceguide.org.uk
4. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers
5. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.3 million clients on 5.4 million problems from October 2013 to September 2014. For full 2013/2014  service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends
6. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England and Wales.