The most financially stretched homeowners in Britain will be the first to be hit by the Bank of England’s decision to raise the Bank Rate to 0.25pc. Leaseholders who have been pushed onto standard variable rate mortgages because they are trapped by the cladding scandal will immediately feel the burn from increased mortgage costs.

As inflation hit a 10-year high of 5.1pc, the Bank of England was pushed to make a rare December rate raise. This was only the second December increase in 45 years. For the 2.2 million homeowners on variable rate mortgages, it means rising costs just in time for Christmas.

Sarah Holland, 48, bought a £245,000 flat in Barking, east London, as a buy-to-let investment three years ago. When her two-year fixed-rate expired in July 2020, she was unable to remortgage with a different provider because the property has not had an external wall safety assessment. Instead, she had to stick with her original lender, who pushed her onto a standard variable rate. Her monthly mortgage payments increased from £1,100 per month to £1,300 per month.

Meanwhile, she had to reduce the rent by £200 per month because of falling city rental demand during the pandemic. In a painful mirror image, Ms Holland’s monthly income on the property has fallen from £1,300 to £1,100.