The data relating to 2022 in this publication is currently under review and will be re-weighted. Revised estimates are expected to be published in early 2023.
Households were asked if they had arrears, i.e. failed to make a payment in time during the 12 months prior to the date of interview due to financial difficulties. These payments included mortgage or rental payments; utility bills; hire purchase instalments, or other loan payments. The answer categories were ‘yes, once’; ‘yes, twice or more’; ‘no’.
In 2022, of the 55.8% households making mortgage or rent payments, 2.1% failed once and a further 6.1% failed twice or more to make a payment on time in the past 12 months. However, the total proportion in mortgage or rent arrears decreased from 11.0% in 2021 to 8.3% in 2022. See figure 5.1 and table 5.1.
| X-axis label | No | Yes, twice or more | Yes, once |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 91.7 | 6.1 | 2.1 |
| 2021 | 89 | 8.4 | 2.6 |
| 2020 | 88.6 | 7 | 4.3 |
Of the 99.5% households indicating they pay utility bills, 9.2%, had arrears on utility bills, with 6.6% failing to make a payment on time twice or more. This is an increase of 2.2 percentage points on the 7.0% of households with utility bills in 2021. See figure 5.2 and table 5.2.
| X-axis label | No | Yes, twice or more | Yes, once |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 90.8 | 6.6 | 2.6 |
| 2021 | 93 | 5.4 | 1.6 |
| 2020 | 92.5 | 5.7 | 1.8 |
Of the 28.7% of households that indicated they have hire purchase instalments or other loan payments, 9.5% had arrears, with 7.6% failing to make a payment on time twice or more in the past 12 months. This is decrease of 1.2 percentage points on the 10.7% of households with loan arrears in 2021. See figure 5.3 and table 5.3.
| X-axis label | No | Yes, twice or more | Yes, once |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 90.5 | 7.6 | 1.9 |
| 2021 | 89.3 | 7.1 | 3.6 |
| 2020 | 89.2 | 7.7 | 3.1 |
By household composition, single-adult households with children are the most likely to have missed at least one payment in the past 12 months, while households comprised of two adults with at least one aged 65 or over were the least likely. Of those making the relevant payments, 13.3% of one-adult households with children had arrears on mortgage or rental payments; 16.4% had arrears on utility bills; and 17.8% had hire purchase instalments or other loan payment arrears. See figure 5.4.
| X-axis label | Arrears on mortgage or rental payments | Arrears on utility bills | Arrears on hire purchase instalments or other loan payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 adult aged 65 years and over | 12.1 | 7.2 | 6.5 |
| 1 adult aged less than 65 years | 9 | 10.3 | 11.9 |
| 2 adults, at least 1 aged 65 years and over | 4.2 | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| 2 adults, both aged less than 65 years | 7.4 | 8.8 | 5.7 |
| 3 or more adults | 7.4 | 4.4 | 6.9 |
| 1 adult, with children under 18 years | 13.3 | 16.4 | 17.8 |
| 2 adults, with 1-3 children under 18 years | 5.6 | 15.1 | 14.4 |
| Other households with children under 18 years | 13 | 10.2 | 3 |
Analysis of arrears on mortgage or rental payments by tenure status, shows that 2.9% of owner-occupied households with an outstanding mortgage failed to make one or more payments on time in the past 12 months due to financial difficulties, compared with 13.4% of rented households. However, both rental and mortgage arrears declined in 2022. The proportion of households in mortgage arrears decreased from 5.3% in 2021 to 2.9% in 2022, while those in rent arrears decreased from 16.2% to 13.4%. It should be noted that payment breaks during the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted 2020 and 2021 estimates.
One in five (20.1%) rented or rent-free households making hire purchase instalments or other loan repayments are in arrears of such payments, compared with one in twenty (5.3%) of owner-occupied households. See figure 5.5.
| X-axis label | Arrears on mortgage or rental payments | Arrears on utility bills | Arrears on hire purchase instalments or other loan payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner-occupied | 2.90000000000001 | 6.3 | 5.3 |
| Rented or rent free | 13.4 | 15.7 | 20.1 |
Households living in enforced deprivation are more likely to have arrears on utility bills at 35.4%, compared with 3.4% of those not experiencing deprivation. See figure 5.6.
| X-axis label | Arrears on mortgage or rental payments | Arrears on utility bills | Arrears on hire purchase instalments or other loan payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not experiencing deprivation | 3.8 | 3.40000000000001 | 5.2 |
| Experiencing deprivation | 22.4 | 35.4 | 22.3 |
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