Douglas Council says having more than £70,000 in social housing rent arrears isn’t a ‘huge issue’.

Housing and property committee chair Councillor Devon Watson admits the number is high, but insists ‘people are continuing to pay their rent’.

The £70,000 figure was on the council’s agenda this week but Cllr Watson said that had now fallen below the £50,000 mark.

He said that happened in most Januarys.

He said: ‘Rent arrears is not necessarily a huge issue.

‘There is always a level of rent arrears in any authority.

Despite a cost of living crisis, the council says it hasn’t seen ‘a large increase’ from previous months.

Councillor Watson added that it’s ‘important’ residents pay as the money covers issues like mould and building new homes.

He said: ‘What we have to do as a housing authority is two things.

‘Firstly anyone who needs help is able to access help. Our officers have worked hard to ensure people are on payment plans.

‘Secondly, we want to ensure that correct information is out there.

‘So we would like to ensure that anyone who has trouble in paying rent in social housing is able to come forward and a payment plan can be set up for them.

‘One thing that we are happy with is that, despite the cost of living crisis, people have been paying their rents.’

The council doesn’t have a policy of evicting people who cannot pay their rents, he said.

‘We try to take a very compassionate approach and this means working with people and building the relationships.’

Regarding the deficit, Cllr Watson said that relative to the budget, the figure ‘wasn’t that high’.

‘We haven’t seen a huge rise despite a really, really harsh winter so we are happy that our tenants have come forward.

‘But at the same time we need to ensure that social housing rent continues to be paid.

‘It is how we pay to maintain social housing. This is how we deal with issues such as mould.

‘Secondly, this is how we build additional housing.’

He welcomed the fact that total rent arrears had actually fallen from a few months ago.