Rent arrears of at least £5m are said to be owed to Scottish councils and housing associations as a result of the 'bedroom tax', new figures have suggested.

The findings, which have been gathered by the Scottish Housing Regulator, added that the arrears are continuing to rise.

In the Housing Regulator's report, it found total arrears for social landlords was £73m at the end of September 2013, which is 4.43% of the total rental income due for 2013-14. This is up from 3.82% in September 2012 and 3.89% in September 2011.

The report looked at landlords' perceptions of the impact of the Welfare Reform changes. Almost half of responding local authority landlords and almost a fifth of RSLs, thought that over 10% of their arrears in September 2013 were as a result of the changes to housing benefit. The amendments were introduced in April 2013.

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In addition, just over three quarters of responding landlords told the Regulator they could identify the monetary value of arrears at September 2013 arising directly from the reductions. The total cash value of these arrears reported by this group is £4.86m.

Around 80% of social landlords contributed to the survey.

Commenting on the results, Iain Muirhead, the regulator's Director of Strategy and Communications, said: "Our role is to protect tenants' interests. To be successful and deliver for their tenants, social landlords needs to be financially healthy.

"This research helps us to understand the challenges landlords face. The picture is complex, and some of the emerging patterns are subtle rather than stark.

"Arrears fluctuate seasonally, and other evidence suggests an increased use of discretionary housing payments to mitigate arrears.

"Nevertheless, our research indicates that many landlords believe that welfare reform is beginning to have a significant impact on their arrears levels."

It has been said that an estimated 76,000 households in Scotland have been affected by the so-called 'bedroom tax'.

Earlier this week, the Scottish Government said had a further £15m to offset the impact of the bedroom tax, but it needed approval from the UK Government to be able to distribute the money.

(JP/CD)