Nearly half of tenants are struggling to make their monthly payments, Which? has claimed, urging those in trouble to seek help from their landlord for ‘temporary help’.

A poll of some 4,000 households by the consumer advocacy group found widespread financial problems when paying for a roof over their head with 46% saying theywere struggling, which equates to approximately seven million people.

Although the poll included both mortgage holders and renters, it revealed that many tenants are becoming worried that landlords facing higher borrowing costs as mortgageinterest rates have risen, worrying that they cannot afford higher rents.

Which? also says many tenants are having to ‘top up’ to pay their rent with 27% of tenants in the private rented sector dipping into savings and while others said they were working longer hours to try and make up the difference, particularly homeowners on variable rate mortgages.

The research did not examine how landlords are surviving the cost of living crisis, although recently 60% of small portfolio landlords said they were preparing to increase rents to compensate for higher costs.

Emotional

Which? says over half of tenants said their emotional wellbeing had been impacted by financial pressures on a daily basis, twice the levels of those who own their own homes, and 62% of renters are worried about their household’s financial security while 56% said they didn’t feel in control of their finances.

“It’s hugely concerning that seven million households are already struggling to keep up with rent or mortgage payments – with millions more set to remortgage at higher rates  by the end of 2024,” says Rocio Concha (pictured), Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy. 
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“We’d encourage anyone who’s struggling to seek free debt advice and reach out to their mortgage provider or landlord for help.”