New research from Shelter shows that an estimated one million families have resorted to using credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent during the past year.
Around 6% of households responding to a survey said they had used their plastic in order to keep up with their housing costs during the past 12 months.
Kay Boycott, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Shelter, said:
"This is a shocking discovery, that over a million households in Britain are in such desperate circumstances that they need to borrow money on credit cards to pay for basic housing costs.
"If people are already struggling to the extent that they fear losing their home, increasing credit card debt cannot be the answer."
Shelter warned that many of the people who had resorted to using their credit card to cover their housing costs could find themselves facing homelessness this year, particularly as defaulting on their credit card repayments could lead to their property being repossessed in the worst case scenario.
Research from HouseMark finds that tenants in London are unhappier with their landlords than their counterparts anywhere else in England and Wales.
The research shows that only 69% of tenants in London were satisfied with their landlords, compared with an average 79% score elsewhere.
London landlords scored significantly worse than those outside the Capital on issues such as repairs and maintenance, dealing with enquiries and keeping their tenants informed.
The lower scores in the Capital apply to both housing associations and local authorities.
According to HouseMark, the difference in satisfaction levels demonstrates a 'London effect' in housing and cannot be explained by landlord performance.
Other key findings in the research include:
HouseMark's Deputy Chief Executive, Samantha McGrady, said:
"These results illustrate the need for the sector to better understand satisfaction data.
"It is naïve to think there is a direct relationship between performance and satisfaction. Interpretation of satisfaction data requires an appreciation of the drivers underpinning perception - different people see things differently.
"Where you live, how old you are and other diversity factors are just some of the variables that shape perception."