Around 7 million Brits have turned to alternative types of credit such as instant short term loans in order to pay the rent or their mortgages, according Shelter, a homelessness charity.
Payday advance lenders have aided approximately 1 million in need of help paying to keep a roof over their heads, Shelter reported. An additional 6 million turned to such sources as credit cards, other types of cash loans, and unauthorised overdrafts in order to make ends meet as well, according to the charity’s research.
The chief executive for Shelter, Campbell Robb, expressed his shock at the charity’s findings, as he commented on the desperation of millions of British households as they tried to pay their housing costs. He counselled against turning to temporary measures for funding rent and mortgage payments due to their unsustainable nature, especially since the results could be catastrophic.
One personal debt expert commented on the findings as well, remarking that people commonly prioritise repaying debt over paying the mortgage or the rent, as the only way to pay these is to spiral further into debt. The answer lies not in borrowing even more, the expert said, but in focussing on tackling your problem of unsecured debt head on.
You need conduct a review of your financial circumstances if you find yourself struggling to pay the rent or your mortgage and feel that your only option is to increase your debt by borrowing more, experts also said. There are debt solutions available to Brits, such as individual voluntary arrangements or debt management plans in order to free up cash and resolve unsecured debt problems in order to pay the mortgage or rent without having to resort to borrowing even more and sinking deeper into debt.