A think tank says household costs are under more pressure from the cost of living crisis than in the pandemic, with renters “at the sharp end”.

A new Resolution Foundation analysis based on a survey of 10,470 adults examines how the cost of living crisis is affecting people’s ability to meet their housing costs. 

The share of households who are behind on or struggling with housing costs has risen by almost 70 per cent compared to the peak of the pandemic, from 26 per cent in January 2021 to 44 per cent in November 2022.

The foundation says: “Renters are at the sharp end of the crisis, as private and social rents are rising at their fastest rates in a decade, on top of wider cost of living increases. One-in-12 private renters reported falling behind on housing costs in the three months to November 2022, while over half reported struggling with their housing costs.”

The situation is even more acute for social renters, with nearly one-in-five falling behind and another four-in-10 struggling with their housing costs. Meanwhile just four per cent of mortgagors fell behind on housing costs over this period – although the broad-based nature of the cost-of-living crisis has led to a further 46 per cent struggling with housing costs.

The foundation continues: “The lower financial resilience of renters means that they are struggling more to cope with the cost-of-living crisis.”

Nearly half of social renters reported being unable to afford to replace electrical goods, or switch the heating on when needed. This fell to around a third of private renters and roughly a quarter of mortgagors.

The crisis has also put a considerable strain on people’s wellbeing, say the authors. More than two-in-five private and social renters reported feeling fairly or very worried about covering their housing costs over the winter, compared to almost a third of mortgagors.

The foundation says government intervention during the Covid-19 crisis – banning evictions, rebasing the Local Housing Allowance and mandating mortgage holidays – helped to minimise the impact of the pandemic on households. But it adds: “support is currently much more limited, despite many more households struggling with their housing costs … than during the peak of the pandemic.”

Overall, three-in-five social and private renters were behind on or struggling with their housing costs in November 2022, compared to two-in-five in January 2021. Increases were more dramatic among mortgagors, with the proportion behind or struggling with their housing costs almost doubling (between January 2021 and November 2022.

The foundation want the government to do more by re-basing the LHA rates and implementing measures to allow fair mediation between tenants and landlords when arrears build up.

A foundation spokesperson says: “Private and social renters are at the sharpest end of the cost-of-living crisis. The fastest rent rises in a decade, alongside wider cost of living pressures, have left three-in-five renters falling behind on or struggling with their housing costs. 

“This is significantly higher than at the peak of the pandemic, when there was substantially more Government support available to struggling households.

“With many renters reaching the limits of already depleted finances, this squeeze is having profound impacts on their household budgets and wellbeing. As housing costs are set to continue rising, the situation for renters will worsen without further policy intervention.”