More and more tenants are getting into trouble with their rents.

Serious arrears rose last year, with 84,200 tenants more than two months behind with their rent at the end of the third quarter of 2015.

That represented an increase of 10,200 households on the second quarter, and a rise of 13,200 more households in arrears on the same period in 2014.

The latest figures, from LSL sister firms Your Move and Reeds Rains, are the highest for over two years.

It means that 1.6% of all UK private tenancies are in arrears of more than two months, compared with a peak of 2.9% in 2008.

Separately, Rightmove has calculated that tenants could save an average of £210 per month by flat-sharing, as rents continue to rise.

According to Rightmove’s Rental Trends Tracker released this morning, average rents outside London rose 3.8% last year.

It says that sharing a two-bed flat is much more cost-effective than renting a one-bed flat on your own.

In Newcastle, for example, the difference in price is just 11% – £553 per month for one bed, and £614 for two.