Nearly two-thirds of people (63 per cent) say the UK has a housing crisis, rising to 71 per cent of private renters, said Nationwide.

The mutual revealed that a quarter of renters say the pandemic has made it less likely they’ll be able to buy their own home.

And nearly seven in 10 (68 per cent) don’t think they will ever be able to afford to buy a home.

Overall, 57 per cent of households are now homeowners, down from 64 per cent in 2003.

Barriers to homeownership

For many people Covid has made the journey to home ownership much harder. Affordability remains a significant barrier for many, with 41 per cent of renters saying getting a deposit together and meeting other upfront purchase costs make buying their own home unaffordable.

Data from Nationwide shows that currently the average first-time buyer property costs 5.6 times the average income compared to the long run average of 3.2.

Research by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) added that Britons spend the joint highest of any other nation on housing, with more than a quarter (26%) of disposable income being spent on the cost of a home on average.

This rises rapidly for those in lower earning roles, including carers, labourers and couriers, where mortgage or rental payments swallow over 40 per cent of take-home pay.

Sara Bennison, chief product and marketing officer at Nationwide Building Society, said: “Our research and cross-industry conversations show that the pandemic has served to exacerbate long-standing issues in the housing market. Layer onto that the enormous challenge of making the UK’s homes net zero and the challenge ahead becomes even greater.”