London is the debt capital of Britain

18th August 2016

Londoners are more likely to be struggling with debt than the rest of the UK costing  the city £1.4 billion a year according to a new report from StepChange Debt Charity. The report shows that the charity’s clients living in the capital owe more on credit cards and loans, have higher arrears on bills meaning that they face a greater struggle to make ends meet. The charity is estimating that half a million people in the city are now over-indebted. The report is based on in-depth analysis of over 15,000 of the charity’s clients.

The average debt among StepChange Debt Charity clients is £11,980 nationally, but in London it is 3.5% higher at £12,402. The charity’s London clients also have higher arrears on their essential bills, including rent/mortgage and Council Tax:

  • 36% of London clients who rent were in arrears by an average of £1,347 compared to 29.8% and £904 across the UK
  • 37.7% of those with a mortgage were in arrears by £4,177 on average, compared to 31.8% and £3,108 across the UK
  • 37.9% were in arrears on Council Tax at an average of £1,123 compared to 32.5% and £931 across the UK

More details of the report can be found here.