Because close to two-thirds of the people living in the United Kingdom are having a difficult time paying their mortgage payments or getting their rent paid each month, a surprising number of people have been taking out payday loans to help them make ends meet. In fact, a housing charity known as 'Shelter' states that close to 1 million people have been applying for and taking out these loans.
"Out of the people who have been having a difficult time in managing their repayments, 4 percent of these individuals (which adds up to almost 1.5 million) have already gotten behind on their housing payments and are desperately close to losing their homes. In fact, 20 percent of these individuals admitted that they constantly have a difficult time making their monthly payments." - UK Property and Secured Loan Experts www.ukpropertyfinance.co.uk
According to the research that Shelter found in its study, approximately 1 million residents have used a payday loan in order to get their payments paid in the last year, and another 2.8 million had used an overdraft that wasn't authorised in order to do so. Of those 2.8 million renters and homeowners, 10 percent of them are overdrawn with their banks every month, in order to make the payment that is needed to keep their homes.
Because of housing issues and more, the debt counseling charity that is known as 'StepChange' has noted and warned people that more and more individuals are becoming reliant on these payday loans and are having a difficult time getting out of trouble with them. In fact, the charity noted that the number of individuals who have come to them for help with these loans and their exorbitant interest rates (which are close to 4,000 percent) has increased by a whopping 300 percent in just the last 24 months.
Other research into housing costs and issues shows that a marginally larger percentage of people who rent were evicted from their homes in 2012. Even though the number of people who are seriously behind on their rent payments (which is considered to be 2 months or more behind) haven't really gone up dramatically in recent months or years, there were still approximately 86,000 people who were seriously behind and in arrears in the last part of 2012.
There have been a few things that have contributed to these troubles; for instance, rental rates have been climbing and the cost of living has certainly gone up recently. However, recent positive changes in the job market and a reduction in the raising prices of rent, have helped to prevent more individuals from finding themselves behind and in trouble when it comes to their rent.
