Rental arrears fell by 4% in the first three months of the year as an improved employment market boosted tenant finances, according to letting agents Your Move and Reeds Rains’ Tenant Arrears Tracker.

Research from the agents found that 86,200 tenants across the UK are more than two months behind in their rent, down from 89,300 in the previous quarter.

Eviction orders also fell 3% in the first quarter.

In the first quarter of 2016 there were 26,230 court orders made for eviction as a result of possession claims by landlords in the county courts, down from 26,964 in the last three months of 2015.

This finally represents some good news for landlords, after being hit with extra Stamp Duty charges and clampdowns on tax concessions, who themselves are now less likely to fall behind on their mortgage repayments, according to the research, with the first quarter seeing only 9,300 cases of buy-to-let mortgage arrears of more than three months, down 9.7% on the last quarter.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “Fewer tenants in serious arrears reflect the health of the jobs market.

“With an extra 44,000 jobs created in the first quarter of this year, thousands of tenants have been able to get their finances back on track and pay down late rent.

“Serious rent arrears peaked in the third quarter of 2012, when 124,800 households owed more than two months’ rent – and when unemployment in the UK stood at 7.9%.

“Since then a boom in employment has been responsible for lifting many of the most precarious tenant households out of serious rent arrears and on to a more sustainable course. The direction of travel looks very positive.”