Four in 10 people say they find it “very or somewhat difficult to afford their rent or mortgage payments”, data from the Office for National Statistics shows.  

This breaks down into 46% of renters who struggle, compared with 34% of mortgage holders, according to the government data body’s latest cost-of-living survey covering July to October.  

It adds that 55% of tenants say their accommodation costs have risen, compared to 34% of mortgage holders over the period.  

The survey adds: “This proportion appears to have increased among renters compared with earlier this year, but not among mortgage holders” coming in at 42% and 32%, respectively, between February and May.  

Private rents in the UK lifted by 6.1% in the year to October, the largest rise since the ONS began that data series in 2016.  

It points out: “While interest rates have been increasing since the start of 2022, many fixed-rate mortgage borrowers have, so far, been insulated from these increases,” as they typically roll off two- and five-year home loans.  

The survey also gauged how financially resilient Britons are.  

This measure was set at whether households had enough savings to cover losing a quarter of their wages for three months.  

Among renters, 52% passed this test, compared to 78% of households with a mortgage, and 93% of those who own their property outright.  

Overall, 47% of all adults said their cost of living had increased compared to a month ago.   

The most cited reasons responsible for this were food prices, at 92%, gas or electricity bills, 69%, the price of fuel, 54%, and rent or mortgage costs, at 16%.