CONSUMER SQUEEZE
Tough times give rise to rent dodgers
The TPN Credit Bureau data show a dip in rental payments in first quarter
More residential tenants are failing to pay their rent on time, highlighting the economic pressure on the South African consumer, say experts. Despite this, private and listed real estate companies are buying properties to let. Experts say there is huge demand for affordable rental housing and entry-level housing for the middle class. The TPN Credit Bureau has released data showing that the percentage of residential tenants who pay their rent — including utility bills — on time deteriorated six percentage points to 66.08% in the first quarter of 2017, from 72.52% in the third quarter of 2015. The bureau’s latest quarterly residential rental monitor attributed this deterioration to interest-rate hiking, a slowdown in disposable income growth and indebtedness of households. TPN said the year-on-year growth in real household disposable income dwindled from 5.9% in the first quarter of 2011 to 0.9% in the fourth quarter of 2016, driven largely by weak economic growth and a rising person...
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