A growing number of people are turning to Citizens Advice for help dealing with social housing debts and threats of repossession. During 2013, Citizens Advice volunteers and advisers dealt with nearly 87,000 problems of social housing rent arrears, a 10% increase on 2012.

The charity cites pressures including below-inflation wage rises, high food costs and a lack of affordable housing as contributing to the sharp increase in arrears issues. The impact of welfare reform has also been a driving factor in the pressure on people’s finances. Of the charity’s clients affected by the Under-Occupancy Penalty from October to December 2013, 20% of them were also behind on their rent.

The new figures published by the charity show that even as the economic situation has improved in the past year, problems associated with housing debt have risen significantly. The national charity’s chief executive, Gillian Guy, warns that the “legacy of recession” has left increasing numbers struggling to pay rent and on the edge of having their home repossessed.

In 2013, of 86,950 issues relating to housing arrears in the social rented sector, Citizens Advice Bureaux dealt with 10,702 problems about people at risk of having their house taken from them after falling into debt, a 26% increase compared with a year earlier. It also dealt with 39,827 problems about dealing with rental debts owed to a council or housing association, a 16% increase compared with a year earlier.

Guy said: “The shock of recession is fading but the effects of the downturn are still with us. Increasing numbers of people are on the edge of losing their home. Many people are struggling to manage their housing debts and prevent a stressful situation becoming an outright crisis.

“The steep rise in arrears, possession orders and help with housing debt suggests thousands cannot make ends meet and need help to keep a roof over their head. An urgent commitment to sorting out our woefully inadequate stock of affordable housing would help the supply of homes start to catch up with demand.

“It’s good news that things are looking up, but for many individuals and families the legacy of recession remains. The combination of squeezed wages, the impact of welfare reform, energy costs rising seven times faster than earnings, childcare costs going up 5% every year, failed housing policy and a national economic calamity will not be erased overnight.”