Rising numbers of tenants in St Albans are falling behind with their rent because of Covid-19, councillors have been told.

In February there were 1695 "arrears cases" recorded by St Albans District Council.

But in March that figure had increased by almost 1000 to 2614. And the amount of rent arrears owed to the council had increased by £180,000, to £1.25m.

The increase in arrears was reported to a meeting of the council’s cabinet on Thursday (April 23).

The report associated "the impact of Covid-19" with the increase. And it stressed that the council is seeking to support tenants rather than take action to possess the property.

The report read that ""No possession action is being taken in line with government information".

"The income team is reminding tenants to pay their rent, but our approach has moved to offering support and advice through telephone contact rather than enforcement action."

The data is included in a report on the performance of the council against a range of targets between January and March.

At the meeting, councillors were told that there had been an impact on arrears as more people moved to Universal Credit, which is paid in arrears.

And it was suggested that part of the increase in March may reflect payments that were made in the first week of April – rather than the last week in March.

The report said that arrears from current tenants had increased in March, due to Covid-19.

And councillors were told that this was expected to increase going forward as there would be more people losing jobs or being furloughed, as a result of Covid-19.