35%, or 8.6 million people, would be unable to pay their rent or mortgage from their savings for more than a month.
According to statistics released by charity Shelter 18%, or 4.4 million people, would not be able to pay their rent or mortgage at all if they could not secure a new job immediately.
The statistics are even more worrying for families with children where 43% could not pay for their home for more than a month, and 23% could not meet their payments at all.
Campbell Robb, Chief Executive of Shelter said: “These figures paint an alarming picture of a nation where the buffer between having a home and potentially becoming homeless is a single paycheque.
“Millions are living on the edge of a crisis, only 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.”
