A new survey has found that one in five people are spending more than 40% of their net income on rent.

The study, by cooperative housing provider NABCO, shows 23% of all tenants are afraid of losing their accommodation, but this climbs to 38% in Dublin.

While one in three of the 1,000 respondents say they do not have a formal lease.

It also found that 42% of Dubliners have seen their rent increase in the last 18 months, as against 19% in the rest of the country.

And 67% of Dubliners expect their rent to increase in the next 12 months.

The survey also asked people about proposed new rules from the Central Bank, requiring 20% deposits from home purchasers.

It says the response was overwhelmingly negative, with nine in ten people believing that the rules would make it harder for people looking to buy a home and only 15% believing it would benefit the wider housing market.

The CEO of NABCO, Kieran Brennan, spoke to Newstalk Breakfast this morning and he stated there are some laws in place to protect tenants without a lease.

He also claimed that there is a worrying trend of renters who don't have leases: