In the last 12 months, over one million householders have resorted to using credit cards to pay for their rent or mortgage, according to leading charity Shelter.
Its research found that almost six per cent of people had relied on a credit card to make payments for their mortgages or rent, which equates to a national figure of more than a million people.
The study also showed that men were more likely than women to use their credit cards – seven per cent of men admitted to using credit cards compared to six per cent of women.
Younger adults, often on the first rung of the property ladder, were hit hard, with almost seven and a half per cent of people aged between 18 and 24 saying they had used their cards this way in the last year.
Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson says: “For many people trying to keep a roof over their head, desperation is driving them to short-term high-cost borrowing. Ordinary people are being forced to seek more risky and expensive ways to stave off the threat of eviction and repossession.”
Chiltern’s Joanne Gill says: “As housing costs have continually risen, home owners have felt the pinch in their pay packets. But paying for mortgages or rent on credit cards really is a last resort and can quickly lead users in to a downward spiral of debt.
“With interest rates on credit cards usually more than double that of even the highest mortgages, the additional costs that would be incurred don’t bear thinking about.
“We would urgently advise anyone struggling with their finances in this way to seek independent and impartial help before resorting to such desperate measures.”
