Separate research from National Debtline and Shelter shows how millions will struggle to pay their mortgage and rent as credit card bills start to arrive

More than 2.5 million families in England are being forced to cut back on essentials such as heating and clothing this winter to pay their rent or mortgage, according to housing charity Shelter.

Its research also found that one in 10 parents were worried about whether they would be able to afford to meet their housing payments this month.

The charity’s findings coincided with separate research from National Debtline showing that more than 5.5 million Britons said they were likely to fall behind with their finances in January as a result of Christmas spending.



The two surveys underline the strain that many individuals and families are under as the new year begins, with some so worried about their situation that they sought online advice on Boxing Day.



What’s the best deal to pay off those Christmas credit card bills? Read more

As part of the Shelter research, YouGov questioned more than 4,500 adults during November, including around 850 parents with children aged 18 and under. It found that 27% of parents – the equivalent of almost 2.7 million people in England – said they had already cut back on either using energy to heat their home or buying warm clothing to help meet their rent or mortgage payments this winter.



Around 10% of parents said they were worried about being able to afford to pay their monthly rent or mortgage, while 15% told the researchers they were already planning to cut back on buying festive food, or had used savings meant for Christmas presents to help meet their housing costs this winter.



Shelter said a shortage of affordable homes had left many families struggling with “sky-high” housing costs, and was part of the reason why more than 100,000 people had sought advice on housing debt from its online, phone-based and face-to-face services in the past year.



The charity highlighted the case of Michelle and her family, who live in Cambridge and have had the threat of eviction hanging over them since husband Kevin became self-employed in his job as a builder.



“Even though my husband works as many hours as he can, it’s constantly hand to mouth. We cut back on everything to pay the rent – including food. When the children are at school the heating isn’t on at all, and over Christmas we had to cut back on presents and clothing,” said Michelle. “I try to hide it as much as I can from my youngest children, but they know they can’t ask for treats and not to let anyone they don’t know into the house in case the bailiffs come round. I recently went to the doctor because the stress of it all has made my asthma worse.”



My youngest children know not to let anyone they don’t know into the house in case the bailiffs come round

Shelter has various tips for dealing with rent and mortgage debt, including asking for help early and prioritising mortgage or rent payments over credit card and payday loan company demands.



The bad news for private renters is that their costs are likely to rise this year as landlords contend with changes to the taxation of buy-to-let properties and a hike in stamp duty. Last month, the Association of Residential Letting Agents warned that these measures would mean higher costs for landlords, “and as a result push up rents for tenants”.



National Debtline, a free advice service run by the Money Advice Trust charity, said its own survey found that nearly one in eight Britons believed they were likely to fall behind with their finances in January as a result of spending linked to Christmas – equating to an estimated 5.7 million people. Almost half this number, an estimated 2.5 million people, said they were likely to seek advice on dealing with their debts or managing their money as a result of festive spending – up from 1.9 million last year.



Millions of people relied on credit to get through Christmas, and National Debtline said it was worried that the pressure to overspend will have left many nursing a new year “financial hangover”.



The advice service had seen a 61% jump in calls after Christmas 2014 as households came to terms with festive overspending, and a spokeswoman said the early signs were that this was likely to be surpassed this winter. About 215 people logged on to National Debtline’s website for an advice session on Boxing Day, compared with 157 people on 26 December 2014 and 45 the year before.



Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, said: “National Debtline always has a busy January when credit card and other bills begin to land, and we expect demand to be even higher this month than in previous years. The fact that so many people went online for an advice session straight away on Boxing Day tells its own story.”

