Five local authorities in the North East are owed a collective £16.5m in unpaid rents from council tenants.
Gateshead, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, and Sunderland City councils are jointly owed over £16m in back rent, with many claiming cost of living as a significant factor in recent years. This is a cumulative figure and includes historical as yet unpaid arrears.
Durham County Council had no recorded rent arrears, having previously sold off the vast proportion of its housing stock.
Newcastle’s housing provider, Your Homes Newcastle, was unable to provide a figure but claimed it had collected 98.8% of its rent and has reduced rent arrears by an average of £83.49 per household. The ascending list of debts owed to each council is as follows:
- Gateshead Council: £7.15m
- North Tyneside Council: £6.4m
- South Tyneside Council: £1.95m
- Northumberland County Council: £979,562.78
- Sunderland City Council: £30,992.51
The ascending list of homes owned per council is as follows:
- South Tyneside Council: 18,000
- Gateshead Council: 17,500
- North Tyneside Council: 14,119
- Northumberland County Council: 8,400
- Sunderland City Council: 139
A Gateshead Council spokesperson said: “All debts are appropriately pursued, with a tenant’s circumstances always considered. Debts have increased in recent years, with a multitude of contributing factors.
“The structure of Universal Credit benefit payments makes it more difficult to budget for housing payments. The current cost of living is also causing issues, with more people seeking advice and support on managing their finances.
“We have a team within our housing service dedicated to supporting the wellbeing of our tenants. This includes helping them with benefit claims, assisting with applications for financial grants, and advice on reducing household expenditure.”
North Tyneside Council also stressed the cost of living crisis is affecting its tenants and has seen rent arrears increase over recent years. The council affirms that financial, support council tax support, energy grants, and food support are available to tenants.
Peter Mennell, director of housing and property services, at North Tyneside Council, said: “In February, the Council allocated additional funding to create dedicated support for tenants living in Council homes who may require additional help over the next three years. This is alongside the cost of living support that we offer to all of our residents, which includes things such as council tax support, energy grants and food support. These measures are working and have helped to slow the arrears increase in the latest financial year.
“Despite the increased financial challenge, we continue to offer a high standard of housing service and investment across our homes. We have a new dedicated support team who offer more intensive and specialised help to those who need it most.
“Work is continuing to reduce the volume of unpaid arrears; ensuring we can protect these services while remaining sympathetic to, and understanding of, our tenants’ needs in difficult times. We would urge anyone who is struggling to visit our website for the full range of support and help available.”
Your Homes Newcastle, although unable to provide a figure, acknowledged some tenants were “struggling” due to the cost of living crisis and delays to Universal Credit. The local authority stated it has helped tenants access over £5m in unassessed benefits and has provided food and energy support.
Jen Vinton, Group Director of Housing Services at Your Homes Newcastle, said: “Due to the Cost-of-Living crisis and delays to Universal Credit, we have seen a slight impact on the number of people being able to pay their rent. We know many of our customers are struggling financially and feeling the additional pressure of rising costs, so we have provided all of our customers with information to help and have additional support in place to assist anyone dealing with financial difficulties.
“Our Financial Inclusion Team helps customers to check their household income and benefit entitlements, helping draw up a household budget to identify expenditure and potential areas of savings, as well as accessing food parcels and support with energy costs.
“As a result, the team along with colleagues in our Support and Progression team, have helped customers access over £5m in unclaimed benefits. We continue to perform well in terms of rent collection and are currently exceeding Newcastle City Council’s rent collection target. We also ensure that none of our customers are evicted due to any financial arrears, instead helping them to manage their finances and provide support and guidance to prevent similar issues from reoccurring in the future.”
