According to research by FCC Paragon, which used figures from TDS Group on rental disputes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, around 9,784 rental market disputes involved rental arrears in 2023-24. This is out of 47,405 rental disputes in total.
This is an increase from 5,412 rental arrears disputes in the prior year, which made up around 13% of total rental disputes.
The report found that the number of rental disputes concerning rental arrears had been roughly stable from 2019 to 2024, varying between 14.3% and 12.9%, but shot up last year.
However, the number of rental disputes has been steadily climbing post-pandemic. During the pandemic, there was a pause on evictions, leading to a fall, but since 2021, the figure has been increasing.
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| UK rental market disputes and estimated number involving rent arrears | |||
| Period | Estimated disputes | Estimated number involving rent arrears | Estimated proportion involving rent arrears |
| 2019-20 | 42,239 | 6,037 | 14.3% |
| 2020-21 | 35,196 | 5,032 | 14.3% |
| 2021-22 | 36,570 | 4,702 | 12.9% |
| 2022-23 | 41,740 | 5,412 | 13% |
| 2023-24 | 47,405 | 9,784 | 20.6% |
| Annual change | 13.6% | 80.8% | 7.7% |
PRS ‘has only become more volatile’
Recent figures from UK Finance have suggested that buy-to-let (BTL) arrears were up slightly up on the prior period, with 5,760 BTL mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance in Q3 2024, which is around 2% more than Q2 but 2% down on Q1.
At the highest band of 10% or more of the outstanding balance, this came to 1,780, which is 1% down on the previous quarter.
Bekki Leaves, FCC Paragon’s managing director, said: “Whilst the dark days of the pandemic are thankfully behind us, the figures suggest that the private rental sector landscape has only become more volatile when it comes to the relationship between landlord and tenant.
“In fact, the total number of disputes lodged has increased consistently over the last four years, whilst the number of these disputes relating to rental arrears have not only climbed since 2021/22, but are also accounting for a far higher proportion of the total.”
With the sector undergoing some sizeable changes in 2025, not least with the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Bill, the expectation is that this market volatility will only increase further.
This worrying trend really highlights the importance of thorough referencing when it comes to finding a tenant, as it allows landlords to identify the most financially viable applicant based on their proof of finances, credit history, references and employment status.
In doing so, they put themselves in the best position with respect to avoiding a dispute centred around a lack of rent being paid.
