Michelle Leyland, of broker South Yorkshire Money, said lenders had already begun tweaking their affordability criteria to mirror rising bills. 

She added: “Lending this year will no doubt be a bumpy ride as banks gauge the impact of rising living costs and will be more complex than most are used to. Families will be the most affected, especially those absolutely stretched to the limits already.”

Banks use internal algorithms and spending data from the Office for National Statistics to work out how much a customer can borrow. But Ms Leyland warned these calculations would soon be outdated once official figures showed the extent of mounting living costs.  

Aaron Strutt, of Trinity Financial, a broker, said: “With energy costs rising it is to be expected that banks and building societies will reduce the amount they will lend. 

“The problem is it will hit the lower earners already struggling to access large enough mortgages, while higher earners will not really be affected.” 

The threat of more stringent lending comes after rising interest rates already pushed up monthly mortgage repayments. Homeowners have seen interest payments rise by hundreds of pounds since the Bank of England shocked borrowers with a Bank Rate increase last month.