A new study has revealed that a quarter of all Brits have seen housing costs increase due to the cost of living crisis - and that nearly half are limiting their utility usage. 

Storage specialists StorageX have conducted a survey into how people across the UK are working to balance their finances in the face of rising costs.

From a survey of 1,000 people, one in four (25 per cent) adults said that they have seen increases to monthly housing costs due to the cost of living crisis. 

This comes shortly after reports that Teignbridge housing benefits tenants are having to pay an average of £57 more per month. 

In response, 16 per cent of the respondents said that they had considered moving, with this number jumping to 25 per cent for those aged 25-39.

Despite this, only three per cent confirmed that they had taken action and moved house. 

In the wake of the price rises, nearly half - 49 per cent - of respondents said that they were limiting their use of water, gas and electricity, and 38 per cent said that they had reduced their lifestyle spending. 

Other measures that respondents took included dipping into their savings (25 per cent) and working extra hours (11 per cent). 

However, 28 per cent of those that made cost-saving changes said that it had made no difference to the impact of the cost of living crisis on them, while 26 per cent said that it had “somewhat” eased the impact, and 13 per cent said that it had “considerably” reduced the impact. 

Director of StorageX, Marcin Markiewicz, commented: “Based on these findings and given the present economic situation, it’s clear to see why the mayors of Manchester, Liverpool and London have recently called for rent freezes. 

“With over half of respondents to our survey cutting down on gas and electric usage - as well as other lifestyle expenses - it’s concerning to see that these efforts seem to be generating such low financial returns. 

“I’d imagine that many might feel as though they’re fighting a losing battle.”

“It’s understandable that moving may not seem an attractive option at this time, but we at StorageX have begun to see an increase in demand for storage, potentially due to the need to downsize and save on mortgage and rental payments.”