The pandemic appears to have dented renters’ expectations of being able to buy their own homes, government research suggests.

In the Household Resilience Survey, conducted in June and July the proportion of renters who said they expect to be able to get onto the housing ladder decreased to 49 per cent, down from 59 per cent in the main English Housing Survey which was carried out over the course of 2019/20.

The resilience report found that 7 per cent of private renters, or 279,000 households, were currently in rent arrears, up from 3 per cent in 2019/20.

A further 9 per cent of private renters said they were very or fairly likely to fall behind with rent payments in the next three months, representing around 290,000 households.

The research reveals that 35 per cent of private renters reported a drop in monthly income of at least £100 due to Covid.

A quarter of social renters and 22 per cent of private renters reported finding it fairly or very difficult to comply with social distancing regulations, compared to 13 per cent of owner occupiers.

Almost one in five renters on furlough were currently in rent arrears, compared to one in ten of those not on furlough.

Those on universal credit were more likely to be in rent arrears than those not receiving it. 

Furthermore, 23 per cent of those on universal credit were currently in rent arrears, compared to 7 per cent of those not receiving it.

Generation Rent director Alicia Kennedy says: “These new official figures show just how hard private renters have been hit by the pandemic. 

“Government support has not been enough to stop rent arrears doubling, which is causing severe hardship and crushing the hopes and dreams of thousands.

“To put struggling renters back on their feet, the government must increase Local Housing Allowance to cover average rents and provide grants to clear the rent debts that have built up.”