An estimated 700,000 households missed a housing payment in the last month, according to consumer watchdog.
New research from Which? has revealed one in 20 (5.2%) renters surveyed missed a payment in the last month.
The watchdog’s poll, which had 2,000 responses, also found that two million households missed or defaulted on at least one mortgage, rent, loan, credit card or bill in April.
Bills remain the most common type of missed payment among the population as a whole (4.4%) – with energy bills most commonly missed (2%), followed by council tax (1.6%).
Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: ‘It’s very worrying that so many households are missing housing payments. We’d encourage anyone who’s struggling to seek free debt advice and reach out to their mortgage provider or landlord for help.’