Council landlords report rising arrears and increasing pressure on their homelessness and housing advice services as tenants struggle to cope with the cost of living.

This joint survey from the NFA and ARCH, the body that represents councils with housing stock, is based on a substantial sample of data from around 300,000 council homes – about 30% of the sector.

Councils and their housing management organisations want government to:

• Increase the basic Universal Credit element to cover the essentials of housing, food and heat;
• Stop paying Universal Credit in arrears;
• Improve benefits for those in short-term, fluctuating employment;
• Set a minimum level of benefit to stop deductions pushing families into destitution and to the brink of homelessness.