More than 700,000 renters in the south east of England risk losing their home if they become unemployed or are off work due to sickness.

The number of people unable to cover their housing costs if they lost their wage, has risen by almost half a million people since 2004.

The research by Steve Webb, a former pensions minister, warned the growth of the rental sector combined with possible post-EU referendum rises in unemployment, could create a "toxic cocktail" for tenants who may find they are not eligible for housing benefit, or for those whose rent it may not fully cover.

Based on analysis of the Government's Family Resources Survey, the report published by Royal London found that in 2013-14, 5.5 million working adults would not qualify for full housing benefit if they lost their job.

And last week, a report from Shelter found working families in England are so "stretched to breaking point" that one in three could not afford to pay their rent or mortgage for more than a month if they lost their job.

Mr Webb, who is now director of policy at Royal London, said: "Renting has gone from being a transitional phase that younger people do before buying to something that more couples and families do for the longer term.

"Rising unemployment and a surge in the number of private renters could create a toxic cocktail where working renters discover to their cost, that there are large gaps in the housing benefit safety net.

"This report shows that the benefits system would not meet the rent of the majority of working renters. Unless they are able to resume paid work quickly, 5.5 million working renters would be at risk of not being able to pay the rent and having to move to cheaper accommodation, if they could find it."