Thousands of private renters who have built arrears during the pandemic face problems finding an alternative home because of damage to their credit scores, according to a new survey. 

With the Government refusing to support tenants and landlords in tackling COVID related arrears, this research finds that approximately 210,000 tenants may face severe difficulties in getting landlords to let to them in future.  

Ahead of emergency restrictions easing in the private rented sector on 1June, results from this new survey of over 2,000 private renters in England and Wales show that 7% have built arrears since lockdown began in March 2020. 

A quarter of those with arrears said that their landlord had attempted to reclaim these by seeking a court order. Such orders, where successful, damage a tenant’s credit score – an outcome which makes it for harder for them to access new housing in the future. 

The data, compiled by research consultancy Dynata for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), shows that the average amount of rent owed by those in arrears during the pandemic is now almost £900.