Housemark’s latest monthly Pulse survey has revealed major urban areas have experienced a significant increase in arrears, with Manchester seeing a surge of 27.6% and London 19.5%.

By contrast, landlords in Scotland have reported a notable decrease in arrears, down by 20.3%, and rural areas across the UK have shown improvements too.

These stark contrasts balance out the overall national rate of rent arrears, which has remained relatively stable, ending June 2024 at 2.78%.

The latest monthly Pulse survey, which collected and analysed data from 158 social landlords over June 2024, highlighted the complex and varied challenges faced by social housing providers.

Housemark’s analysis has found that urban environments are contending with escalating arrears due to higher staff attrition and the inherent complexities of managing densely populated areas. In contrast, rural regions showcase more stable housing management conditions and effective income recovery practices, resulting in reduced arrears.

Jonathan Cox, chief data officer at Housemark, said: “These findings demonstrate the diverse challenges faced by social housing providers across the UK. While urban areas grapple with rising arrears, many rural regions are bucking the trend with effective management strategies. This underscores the importance of understanding regional dynamics and their impact on housing management and rent collection.”

Other key Pulse findings include:

• Latest analysis of year-end tenant satisfaction measure (TSM) results shows that three in ten landlords recorded increased overall satisfaction rates between 2022/23 and 2023/24
• There was a 19% rise in complaints volumes between June 2023 and June 2024; 3.86 to 4.57 stage 1 and 2 complaints per 1,000 homes (organisations reporting in both months)
• This rise seems to have been driven by landlords ending the practice of recording informal complaints, in line with the Housing Ombudsman Service’s complaint handling code
• Despite this, Housemark analysis shows as many as one in three landlords have below average complaint volumes and so could be risking non-compliance with the Housing Ombudsman’s complaint handling code