Thousands of private landlords with buy-to-let mortgages are currently in arrears and the figure is rising, statistics shared exclusively with i show.
The rise is due to the fact housing benefit doesn’t cover private rents, which have hit historic highs since the start of the pandemic in many places across England and Wales. This is therefore leaving low-income renters with a shortfall, according to UK Finance, the trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector.
UK finance told i there were 6,060 buy-to-let mortgages where landlords were 2.5 per cent or more behind on their total outstanding balance at the end of 2022. This was a 5 per cent increase on the number who had fallen behind on their payments at the end of the previous quarter.