Almost a quarter of tenants say they are “struggling to pay their rent”, while over half are worried about keeping up with their payments, a poll from the Deposit Protection Service shows.  

It finds that 51% of renters are worried about not being able to manage their housing costs in the future, and 23% currently find it hard to pay rental bills, reports the study by the government-backed deposit service for tenancies across England and Wales.  

It says that 62% of recent movers are paying higher rents than expected, while 64% have had to make financial sacrifices to meet new housing cost payments.   

The survey adds that half of all tenants who moved home during the past year are paying between £51 and £200 more in rent a month. 

Around 18.5% of new movers are paying between £201 and £300 more a month for their new rent, while 7% are paying between £301 and 400 more. Just 3% of movers paid under £50 a month to switch to a new place. 

The poll comes as UK annual rents slowed to 11.1%, or an average of £1,078 per month, in the first quarter of the year, according to data from Zoopla this week, but the online property firm adds that private sector cost for tenants will “continue to run well ahead of earnings growth” this year.  

The deposit service study finds that among recent movers, 30% have had to take on extra work or additional jobs to meet rent commitments.  

Among all tenants polled – those who moved and those who stayed put — 33% reported rent increases during the past 12 months, with 27% saying they are paying a quarter more each month than the previous year.   

Among renters who are finding it hard to keep up with their housing costs, 29% say they are spending less, a quarter have taken on extra work, while 30% plan to downsize.   

Deposit Protection Service managing director Matt Trevett points out: “These results suggest that rent rises are taking place across the country and are clearly affecting moving and non-moving tenants alike.   

“A significant proportion are telling us that they are reaching the limits of what they can afford as a result of the combination of higher-than-expected rents, food and energy costs and are expressing concerns about the future should their rent rise further.”  

The firm surveyed 2,025 of its tenant customers across England and Wales between 7 and 13 March.