Shelter’s latest claim is that around half of employed tenants in England savings are no more than one month’s rent if they lose their job and claims this is a third higher than two years ago.

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The charity’s figures from its commissioned poll shows that 56 per cent of PRS tenants have had their rent increased over the last year.

Shelter also claims 37 per cent are now finding it hard to keep up with payment or have already fallen into rental arrears because of increased rents.

The charity says the only way to curb the uncontrolled rent ‘hikes’ and reduce evictions in the long run is for more social housing.

Chief executive Polly Neate says: “Private renters up and down the country are facing a crisis like never before. Decades of failure from government to build enough social housing means that the pressure on oversubscribed private renting is worse than ever.

“The severe lack of social homes means swathes of people are barely scraping by as they’re forced to compete for grossly expensive private rentals, because there is nothing else. With food and household bills continuing to surge, the situation is precarious for thousands of renters who are one paycheque away from losing their home, and the spectre of homelessness.

“The time for piecemeal policies is over. To jam the brakes on the housing emergency we need a genuinely affordable alternative to private renting.