In the past year, more than 1 million Britons have used their credit cards to pay for their housing costs, according to a report by the Daily Mail.

Shelter, a housing charity, found that 6 percent of respondents to its survey used credit cards to keep up with their rent or mortgage payments. The percentage was higher among 18-to-24-year-olds.

The high-risk trend could have financially dangerous repercussions. One housing advice service quoted by the Daily Mail warned that those who used credit card debt to pay housing expenses were falling into a “spiraling maze of debt” where their credit would eventually run out.

“For many people trying to keep a roof over their head, desperation is driving them to short-term, high-cost borrowing,” said Adam Sampson, Shelter’s chief executive. “Ordinary people are being forced to seek more risky and expensive ways to stave off the threat of eviction and repossession.”

“There is such pressure on people’s budgets that paying your mortgage or rent by credit card, then paying that card with another card, is becoming the norm for many people,” Stuart Freeman, of the Community Housing Advice Service, said.

Credit cards typically charge interest between 15 and 18 percent, and up to 40 percent for those with bad credit histories, according to Shelter. The most expensive mortgages for buyers with bad credit typically range from 11 to 12 percent.

Britain is suffering from symptoms similar to those in the U.S. housing meltdown. Lax lending practices are catching up with the UK housing market, and repossessions will mount as buyers begin to run out of options. One third of mortgage applications in the past six months have been turned down.

For more on this subject, read “The Snare of Debt.”