The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has revealed that over 95% of tenants have either paid their rent or agreed a lower or deferred payment to their landlords during the pandemic.

The research discovered that 87% of tenants have paid their rent as normal throughout the pandemic and a further 8% said that they had agreed a reduced rent, a rent-free period or made some other agreement with their landlord or letting agent

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the NRLA, said: “Consistent with our previous surveys, this latest data demonstrates that the vast majority of landlords and tenants are working together to sustain tenancies, and critically that the overwhelming majority of tenants are paying rent as normal. Eviction is not, and need not be, an inevitable outcome where tenants have struggled to pay their rent due to COVID-19. Those who argue otherwise are stoking needless anxiety for tenants.

“When the courts do start to hear cases again, it is essential that they deal swiftly with the most serious cases, including those where tenants are committing anti-social behaviour or where there are long-standing rent arrears that have nothing to do with the pandemic.

“To offer security to tenants and landlords badly hit during the lockdown we are calling on the government to introduce a tenant loan scheme to help pay off arrears built due to the coronavirus.”

The survey also found that just over 3% of tenants are building arrears and are unable or unwilling to repay these. Less than a third of all those with arrears (2% of the entire survey sample) have been served with a possession notice.

A separate survey shows that 55% of landlords who have granted at least one tenant a deferred rent or rent free period plan to absorb the losses from their own savings.