Tenants turn to loans to meet rental costs
Published: 03-Jul-2008
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system
It may have begun with mortgages, but now those in residential accommodation claim that they are taking out loans to combat rising rent costs, a survey has shown.
According to a poll by moneysupermarket.com, 1.8 million people have taken out a loan to cope with rising rent and mortgage costs.
Some nine per cent also claim that housing costs are forcing them to spend noticeably more of their wages over the last year.
However, the research only confirms what many letting agents had already suspected about their residential lettings.
Last week, Knight Frank told the Financial Times that 40 per cent of its residential lettings across London had overpriced rents.
Tim Moss, head of loans and debt at moneysupermarket.com, described the need for tenants to take out a loan to cover long-term rental costs as a "very serious situation".
He said: "Having a roof over your head has to be your top priority but to be funding that with a loan you might default on or with a credit card that will eventually charge you interest of over 15 per cent isn't the solution in the long term."
See how a property management system makes property management easy
