A third of people one paycheque away from losing their home

One in three people in the UK would not be able to pay their rent or mortgage for more than a month if they lost their job, according to Shelter.

A survey conducted for the charity by YouGov found 35 per cent of those questioned – the equivalent of 8.6 million people – would run out of savings to pay for their rent or mortgage after just a month, while 18 per cent said they wouldn’t be able to pay it at all if they couldn’t secure a new job immediately.

Worryingly, the research revealed families with children are the most vulnerable, with 43 per cent claiming they could be forced out of their home after a month, with nearly a quarter (23 per cent) saying they could not meet payments at all.

This means 3.9 million families in the UK may be just one paycheque away from losing their family home.

Chief executive of Shelter Campbell Robb said: “Millions are living on the edge of a crisis, only secure in their homes for a matter of weeks. At the same time, support for people who have lost their homes is being stripped away.”

According to Mr Robb a family in England loses their house every 15 minutes.

Mortgage and rental repayments are among the biggest outgoings individuals have to make each month and this new research from Shelter shows just how precarious many people’s situation actually is.

On top of this, many people are seeing a reduction in housing benefit and the cost of owning and running a home in the UK is rising every year.

When people are already struggling with large amounts of debt, it is difficult for them to find the extra money to pay for their housing costs and to save for emergencies at the same time.

It is important for people to make sure they manage their finances effectively. A debt consolidation loan could be useful to those individuals who owe money to several different companies. By putting all the debt together in one place, monthly fees can potentially be lowered, freeing up money to be spent on housing, savings and daily living costs.

By James Francis

Find out more about money management on the ClearDebt blog.