The survey suggests that 25 per cent of people who cause damage do not admit this to the property owner. Of these, almost a third felt too embarrassed to own up, 29 per cent did not want to pay for the damage and over a fifth  did not think the damage was significant enough to warrant saying anything.

According to landlord claims data from Direct Line business insurance the priciest types of accidental damage in 2021 were carpets and flooring damage (costing over £940 on average); water damage (£1,340) and soft furnishings and fixtures (£940).

Many households are opting for ‘staycations,’ with 28 per cent planning a stay in a rented holiday home in the UK in the coming year.

Over a quarter have attributed this to the increased cost of living restricting how much they can spend on travelling abroad and 23 per cent are remaining in the UK to save money. A third are doing so to avoid ongoing issues with airports and airlines such as losing luggage, flight cancellations, and long queues.

A Direct Line spokesperson says: “Most holiday homes are not covered by standard home insurance policies, so it’s important that landlords find a holiday home policy that suits what they need and consider adding on cover such as accidental damage, legal expenses or loss of rent, to help deal with the financial fall out of unforeseen issues.”