An estimated 700,000 households across the UK missed rent or mortgage payments last month, according to Which?

The consumer group based the study on a survey of 2,000 people carried out by Yonder, which indicated that around 2.5% of households had missed or defaulted on a housing payment in April.

Renters in particular struggled to meet housing payments, with 5.2% of renters surveyed missing a payment in the past month.

Some 59% of respondents said they made at least one adjustment to cover essential spending such as utility bills, housing costs, groceries, school supplies and medicines in the past month.

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, commented: “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.”