More tenants struggled with rent payments last month and arrears levels have reached the highest level since January last year. A total of £326m of rent was either late or unpaid, according to LSL Property Services' buy-to-let index, up from £241m in November.

The cost of Christmas on strained household budgets is likely to be one factor behind the rise, which equates to 10.1% of all rent in England and Wales.

With finances under pressure, the study also found that the average rent fell by nearly 1% to £734 a month. However, rents are still 3.2% higher than a year ago – above the 2.7% level of inflation. 

 

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/jan/18/rent-arrears-high