Over half (57%) of all respondents saying they are continuing to see a decrease in their amount of disposable income.

61% say they are currently concerned about their financial situation as a direct result of the cost-of-living crisis, while 78% think current state of the economy will make it harder for them to get a mortgage in the future. These are both slightly down from the last study.

Nearly three quarters (73%) of all respondents say that an increase of £100 to monthly bills would have a significant impact on their finances.

A third of all respondents (33%) have used a credit card or other borrowing to pay for food shopping or utilities in the last 12 months, and 6% have borrowed to pay their rent or mortgage.

Some 32% of people have considered moving home to a cheaper area and 21% have considered downsizing.

Further, 34% of people say their financial situation is negatively impacting their mental health.

Some 8.38 million people (16%) have experienced adverse credit in the last three years. This is the highest level since we launched our regular study.

Of all those who say they have missed a credit payment, nearly half (46%) say they have gone on to miss more than one payment.

Around 1.76 million people with adverse credit are planning to buy a property in the next 12 months.

Nearly seven in 10 (69%) of people who do not currently own their own home say that they would like to in the future.

Some 22% think that it will take more than five years for them to be in a financial position where they can own their own home, whilst 36% think they will never be in a position to do so.

Saving for a deposit is cited as the biggest barrier to owning a property (32%). However, nearly 64% of respondents either don’t know the size of deposit they require, or think they need a deposit of 20% or more.

Some 4.2 million (8%) people have an existing mortgage deal that is coming to an end in the next 12 months.

More than 920,000 mortgage customers with adverse credit have a deal coming to an end over the same period.

Two thirds (68%) of respondents are not aware of the difference between a product transfer and a remortgage and 54% say they wouldn’t be interested in a product transfer from their existing lender, which might come at a higher rate, even if it meant they wouldn’t have to go through the full remortgage process.

Nearly three quarters (72%) of self-employed people think that self-employment makes it more difficult to get a mortgage, with 46% of this group saying it makes it a lot more difficult.

Of those surveyed, 43% of self-employed people say their income has increased in the last year compared to the previous two years. A further 29% say their income has increased by 10% or more.

Some 7.34 million people (14%) say they earn income from more than one job as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.

More than one in five (22%) of workers receive variable income from their employment.

Nearly one in three (30%) of people with adverse credit have outstanding debts of more than £5,000 and 41% say this debt has increased in the last 12 months.

Some 42% of respondents with adverse credit say they are concerned that their level of outstanding debt today will negatively impact their chances to get a mortgage in the future.

Around 8% of all respondents say their minimum monthly required credit card payment has increased by £100 or more in the last 12 months.

Nearly four in 10 people (39%) who have remortgaged in the last 12 months say they increased their borrowing when they switched their home loan.

Only 12% of respondents say they would consider a second charge mortgage if they were raising money with additional borrowing secured on their home, but 54% don’t know what option they would choose.

The main reason people would consider a second charge mortgage is for home improvements (51%), with the second most popular reason being debt consolidation (30%).

Nearly one in three people (31%) say they would consider using money from, a second charge mortgage to pay off debts if it would reduce their monthly credit payments.

Four in 10 people (40%) are registered with a credit scoring platform and this increases to 54% of people who have adverse credit.

Some 68% of people say they know how to read and understand a credit report, while 37% of people with adverse credit think they would need to wait three years or longer before applying for a mortgage having received a county court judgment (CCJ). A further 18% think they would need to wait longer than five years.

Half of potential homebuyers with adverse credit (50%) say they would speak to a mortgage broker for advice on getting a mortgage. This is slightly down from the last study when 54% said they would speak to a broker.

The most popular ways of finding a broker are recommendations from family and friends (47%) and 46% would use online research.

The ability to access lenders that are not directly accessible to customers is the most popular reason for speaking to a broker (67%). This is followed by finding the best rate in the market (64%), and the professional advice they can offer (58%).

To access a full copy of the report click here 

N.B Population figures are based on the ONS projection for the UK adult population of 52.4 million