Sixty thousand pounds in rent arrears is owed by social housing tenants in Douglas.

Douglas Council says this figure will continue to rise until December because of the way the rent is paid.

This month’s arrears represent a 20 per cent increase from last month but Councillor Devon Watson, chair of the housing committee, says it is only a ‘0.7 per cent’ of the total social housing income which is ‘about £17 million’.

He also says the council has measures in place for the ‘relatively small’ number of people who are in rent arrears and it will be working to keep a ‘lid’ on the problem.