There has been an explosive rise in debt problems related to housing costs, according to debt collection and credit management service company Intrum.
At the same time, increasing numbers of people are being evicted for failure to meet their housing payments.
According to Intrum, young adults have been particularly hard hit. The company's database shows the number of housing-related debt collection cases involving 18-24 year-olds increased by more than 170 percent last year and the number of people in debt increased by more than 190 percent compared to 2021.
Intrum's database contains information on more than one million Finnish customers.
This year, almost as many 18-24 year-olds will be in debt due to housing costs as in all age groups combined in 2023.
According to Reetta Lehessaari, head of Intrum's collection services department, late payments among younger people are mainly due to absentmindedness.
The number of debt collection cases and debtors aged 25-29 also increased compared to other age groups. In contrast, the increase in the number of debt collection cases for people over 30 years of age levelled off last year, as did the increase in debt for people over 50 years of age.
There has been a significant increase in the number of eviction cases. While in 2022, 2 percent of housing-related debt collection cases progressed to evictions, in 2024 the figure was 10 percent.
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