Housing charity Shelter have, since last summer, been warning of the problems that could occur when the Coalition Government’s cuts in housing benefit start. Now they are also warning that rents in many parts of Scotland are unaffordable for an ever increasing number of hard working people.

Both Shelter and the NLA (National Landlords Association) anticipate the situation will only get worse unless the coalition stops tinkering with their housing polices. People are buying good household insurance to protect their possessions but if things go as Shelter and the NLA predict, some will no longer be living in the same property. Almost 10% of tenants are failing to pay the rent each month, according to the latest figures. The British Property Federation (BPF) thinks this shows tenants on benefits are deliberately not paying their rent. However, the British Property Federation’s view has been dismissed by both Shelter and NLA. Both feel the rising level of rent arrears is simply the latest pressure point in the United Kingdom’s housing market.

Gordon MacRae, head of policy at Shelter, told The Herald “What these figures show is that the cost of living is going up and incomes are not, and in the last 12 months we have seen more and more people pushed over the edge.

“Rents are extortionate for many working people on low incomes, not just in London but in places like Edinburgh and Aberdeen as well, and at the route of it all is the lack of housing supply. It is a very difficult time and it will continue to get worse if only piecemeal solutions are attempted.”

Since 1999 average rent increases have closely mirrored average earning increases. But in the last 18 months the evidence indicates this is no longer the case and Shelter fear for the huge amount of people who will be unable to pay the rent.