Mortgage and rent payments rose 3.6% in the year to April, ending a slowdown of these costs in the first three months of the year, data from Barclays shows.  

But housing costs remain below the 12-month average of 6.5%, “indicating that costs are still heading in the right direction over the longer term,” says the high street bank from analysis of millions of customer accounts.  

However, it points out that service charges and ground rent increases have become “an unexpected burden for many affected homeowners.”  

It says that just 37% of its customers regard these costs as affordable.   

It adds: “On top of the high price tag, most leaseholders feel blindsided by the charges, as just 33% recall being made aware of the costs before purchasing their property, and only 23% said they understood the rate at which these costs would increase.”  

The survey points out that few homeowners thought these charges represent good value.  

It says only 13% feel they get “good value for money” and just 10% believe their fees are “spent effectively”.   

Also, 17% of those paying service and ground rent fees are concerned they won’t be able to sell their homes because of these charges.  

The study also points out that household spending on areas such as homeware, electronics and DIY fell by 4.1 per cent in the year to April, “with many consumers opting to postpone renovations”.  

Barclays head of savings and mortgages Mark Arnold says: “Consumers and lenders alike are anticipating a drop in interest rates this year, but optimism is understandably tentative as the market is still feeling the effects of last year’s volatility.   

“Our data shows that Brits are still facing higher rent and mortgage payments, although costs are still slowing down over the longer term.  

“Many homeowners have additionally been hit by high service charges in the wake of increased inflation.”  

Barclays says its data is drawn from credit and debit card transactions between 17 February and 22 March as well as mortgage and rental payments data from the lender’s current accounts between 23 March and 19 April.  

Data firm Opinium Research also surveyed consumer spending for Barclays, which included a representative sample of 2,000 adults between 19 April and 23 April.