Around one-third of homeowners would not be able to pay their mortgage for more than a month if they lost their job, according to new figures.
Housing charity Shelter published the results of a YouGov survey that showed 35 per cent of respondents – 8.6 million people – could not pay for their home from their savings if they were made redundant, while 18 per cent – 4.4 million people – would not be able to pay their mortgage at all if they didn’t get a new job immediately.
Altogether, 3.9 million UK families could be just one paycheque away from becoming homeless, Shelter said.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of the charity, said millions of individuals are living on the edge of a crisis and may only be 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 – it’s easy to see why every fifteen minutes, another family in England finds themselves homeless,” he added.
Following the recent round of benefit cuts implemented by the government, it is likely household budgets will be tightened.
