Saving to buy a home while renting is looking like a less reliable route to property ownership, according to Paymentshield.

Thiose who rent their home save the least amongst adults in the UK.

While 30% of current homeowners with a mortgage don’t manage to save money each month, 45% of renters don’t save anything at all.

The largest group of savers was found to be those living with their parents, who save an average of £257 per month. Amongst those with mortgages that do save, a third of these save up to £499 per month.

In contrast, the majority of renters who do save put away less than £50 per month (21%).

“Today’s renters are in a really tough situation,” said Tim Johnson, CEO of Paymentshield, which commissioned the survey with YouGov.

“Apart from not being able to save for that all important property, they have very little to fall back on, should the worst happen.”

The lack of savings for renters also means that they are the most likely to rely on outside help if their income was to stop. Only 15% would be able to cope financially for more than four months.

Johnson added: “With an unpredictable economic climate and housing market, we’d encourage as many renters as possible to look at ways to protect their income sooner, rather than later.”