SEVEN in ten renters think they would need a lottery win to afford to buy their own home, a survey suggested.

Some 72 per cent of people currently renting said it would take a lottery win for them to buy their own home. Almost four in ten (39 per cent) are pinning their hopes on a family inheritance to buy a property.

The survey was carried out across England and Wales to mark the launch of the Affordable Housing Commission.

The commission has been established by a think-tank, the Smith Institute, with the support of the Nationwide Foundation charity. It will "examine the causes and effects of the affordability crisis and propose solutions".

Nearly half (47 per cent) of renters say they have been unable to save for long periods because of high housing costs in the last year and just over a quarter (28 per cent) have used a credit card to meet basic expenses, the survey found.

Lord Best, who is chairing the commission, said: "The survey results hammer home the extent of our national affordable housing crisis. This is no longer a problem confined to a few housing hotspots, but is recognised as an issue by people of all ages and income levels across every region.

"The scale of this challenge demands we stop tinkering and build a consensus around some bold solutions.

"Over the coming months the Affordable Housing Commission will be speaking with the public and discussing with housing professionals what these big interventions to tackle the housing affordability crisis should be."

More than 1,400 adults were surveyed across England and Wales. The survey, which also included home owners, found nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of people surveyed think there is an affordable housing crisis.

Housing minister Kit Malthouse said the Government is committing £9 billion for affordable homes. He said it was his job to "galvanise" efforts to achieve 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s "because that's what young people deserve."