Housing costs to be 'bleak for some time'

Posted: 16 Feb 2010 11:19:55 GMT

Many of the UK's adult population may find that they experience financial difficulties relating to housing costs for some time, one expert has stated.

Sarah Webb, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, says that she expects many people to encounter problems with paying for housing over the coming year.

Her comments come in response to recent statistics from the Association of Residential Letting Agents, which reveal that some 55 per cent of its members have reported that tenants are struggling to meet their rental payments.

And the situation seems equally grim for UK homeowners, with recent figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showing that a total of 188,300 mortgages were in arrears at the end of 2009

Furthermore, by the end of this year the CML expects that figure to rise to 205,000.

Ms Webb comments: "One in four of the adult population [are] expected to face financial difficulties paying their housing costs over the coming 12 months and the picture is likely to be just as bleak for some time to come."

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