A new study has revealed the sacrifices social housing tenants make to avoid falling behind with their rent.

Funded by the Nuffield Foundation and created in conjunction with HQN, Sheffield Hallam University’s ‘Holding on to home: tenancy sustainment in social housing’ study looked at the causes of rent payment difficulties, and rent arrears, in particular. Key findings from the study include:

• Many more tenants are struggling to pay their rent than shown by arrears figures alone. A survey as part of the project found that 9% were in arrears but 70% were struggling to pay their rent. Significantly, 69% were making sacrifices (not eating, selling possessions, borrowing money or not using heating) to afford their rent. This means there may be a significant number of social housing tenants at risk of rent arrears but not known to their landlords as needing support
• The introduction of universal credit (UC) appears to have increased tenants’ risk of rent arrears. Analysis of rent account data found that tenants in receipt of UC were at greater risk of accruing additional rent arrears
• Analysis of rent accounts revealed that payment patterns fluctuate from one month to the next. This means tenants cannot be easily categorised into those who do/can and those who do not/cannot pay their rent
• Survey and interview data revealed that those tenants most in need of support were the least likely to seek it out, with anxiety and stigma being the greatest barriers to accessing support.

Professor Paul Hickman from Sheffield Hallam University, who led the study with Dr Kesia Reeve, said: “The research has clearly shown that rent arrears are primarily caused by tenants’ financial circumstances – low income, precarious employment, indebtedness, lack of savings – rather than their budgeting capabilities or motivation to pay. Tenants actively avoid falling into arrears, even if it means prioritising rent payments over other essential items and are generally skilful money managers.”

Recommendations from the report suggest that when developing interventions to improve rent payment levels, landlords should focus on activities to maximise tenants’ income, rather than activities to improve motivation or financial capabilities.

The research has also called on the government to rethink their approach to the implementation of UC.

Dr Catherine Dennison, Programme Head, Welfare, at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “We welcome the team’s systematic analysis revealing the challenges faced by significant numbers of those living in social housing in paying their rent, and the sacrifices that this frequently requires. We encourage social landlords and national policy makers to take note of their recommendations, including to work with tenants to maximise their incomes through all available routes.”

The study was conducted between March 2022 and September 2024 in England, with four case study landlords: Southern Housing; whg (Walsall Housing Group); East Riding of Yorkshire Council; and Stockport Homes. It involved:

• A survey of 1,213 social housing tenants between April and June 2013, which took place in 15 neighbourhoods with tenants of three of the case study landlords. The selection of areas was purposive with neighbourhoods with higher arrears rates, larger UC/ HB populations, and in one case study, larger ethnic minority populations being targeted
• In-depth interviews with 64 social housing tenants
• 67 in-depth interviews with national stakeholders and with social landlords and support organisations
• An analysis of the rent accounts of 38,456 tenants
• A diary keeping exercise
• Analysis of 140 telephone conversations between landlords and tenants about rent payment issues.

You can read the study here.