Almost 30 per cent of Arun council house tenants are in arrears

A total of 1262 out of 4290 tenants has fallen behind on their rent payments as of July 8, according to Arun District Council’s response.

A spokesman said the council was working proactively with tenants to reduce arrears and aimed to recover the funds via individual arrangements and payment plans.

Around 13 per cent of tenants were in arrears of four weeks or more – while almost eight per cent were in arrears of eight weeks or more, the FOI revealed.

The average amount owed was £563.12, while the largest amount stood at £7,211.31.

A spokesman for the council said it was difficult to quantify why tenants had fallen into arrears, as all circumstances and situations differed.

Lockdown has ‘had an impact’, but the council was ‘unable to quantify this at the moment as restrictions are still in place’, the spokesman said.

As well as taking a proactive approach to recovering payments, the council offers tenants advice and assistant in relation to income management, the spokesman said.

To access advice and support visit the council’s website at www.arun.gov.uk