Accredited official statistics

English Housing Survey 2023 to 2024: Experiences of the 'housing crisis'

Published 15 May 2025

Applies to England

Introduction and main findings

This report brings together evidence on the impact of the ‘housing crisis’ on different households and demographics across England. It is split into five chapters and discusses the differences between the three main tenure types throughout – owner occupiers and private and social renters.

The first chapter gives an overview of the impact of affordability issues, including the proportion of income spent on housing costs and ease or difficulty of paying housing costs.

The second chapter focuses on accessing property ownership including the profile of first-time buyers and future expectations to buy among renters.

The third chapter explores concealed households – defined as households with at least one additional adult present who would like to buy or rent their own accommodation but cannot afford to do so.

The fourth chapter outlines those who are hoping to access the social rented sector and finally, the fifth chapter discusses the presence and amount of personal savings.

Background to this report

This report brings together evidence from the English Housing Survey (EHS) on experiences of the ‘housing crisis’. We use the term ‘housing crisis’ in this report, though we are certainly not the first to do so. We use it to lend our evidence to the conversation and to refer to the collection of social and market conditions that result from a shortage of affordable housing, including increasing house prices, households waiting until later in life to purchase their homes and difficulty getting on the housing ladder, longer wait lists for social housing, independent children living with parents for longer, a rise in rough sleeping and families and renters living in overcrowded, substandard and insecure homes.

Additionally, since the COVID-19 pandemic, households in England have been grappling with increases in the cost of living. Alongside this, since 2020, households in England saw increases in inflation alongside rising interest rates, resulting in increases in rent, mortgage, energy costs and other household expenses. This report will also look at the extent to which rises in the cost of living are exacerbating housing crisis conditions and disproportionately affecting certain households and demographics more than others.

EHS findings confirm this – the content of this report shows substantial rises in rent and mortgage payments, and subsequently a higher proportion of mortgagors and private renters saying they struggle to pay for housing. A large proportion of certain groups, such as low-income private renters, are spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs. We also see fewer private renters expecting to buy a home compared with ten years ago. The average deposit needed to buy a home is increasing, as well as the age of first-time buyers, suggesting it is harder for people to get onto the property ladder. Relatedly, many young people are living in ‘concealed households’ with their parents for longer, as they are unable to afford to buy or rent a property on their own. However, the proportion of households with savings remains higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taken together, these findings suggest a growing disparity across households in England, with a smaller but substantial proportion of households struggling with finances, particularly housing costs, and increasingly exposed to risk, and others who are more comfortable in their living situations, with savings or equity in housing. These themes will be explored in more detail throughout this report.

Main Findings

Impact on affordability

In 2023-24, private renters spent the highest proportion of their income on housing (34%), followed by social renters (26%) and mortgagors (19%).

• Households who spent the highest proportion of their income on housing tended to be on lower incomes, have no dependent children, and be based in London or the South-East.

• Overall, social renters in 2023-24 spent less on rent compared with a decade ago (26% vs 29%), but private renters and mortgagors spent a similar proportion of their income on housing costs compared with 2013-14.

Private renters spent a slightly higher proportion of their income on rent in 2023- 24 and 2013-14 (34%), compared with 2019-20 (32%).

• This is especially pronounced among those in the lowest income quintile, where the proportion of household income spent on rent for private renters rose from 56% in 2019-20 to 63% in 2023-24.

Private renters were the most likely to report difficulty affording their housing costs at 32%, followed by social renters at 28%, and mortgagors and shared owners were the least likely to report difficulty affording their housing costs (14%).

• Households who were the most likely to report difficulties affording their housing costs were in the lower income quintiles, those with dependent children and those based in London.

Accessing property ownership

The overall number of first-time buyers increased from 617,000 households in 2013-14, to 827,000 in 2019-20 and 975,000 in 2023-24.

• In 2023-24, the majority of first-time buyers were aged between 25-34 years old (60%) and 15% of first-time buyers bought a property in London.

• First-time buyers were similar ages in 2023-24 compared with a decade ago, however, fewer first-time buyers are purchasing property in London now.

In 2023-24, under 1 million social renters and 2.6 million private renters expected to buy a home in the future.

• Private renters were more likely to expect to buy a property compared to social renters (57% vs 25% respectively).

• Younger private and social renters were more likely to expect to buy than older renters, as well as those on higher incomes, those in lone male households and those with dependent children.

• Compared with 2019-20, social renters were less likely to expect to buy a property in 2023-24, but private renters were as likely to expect to buy.

Concealed households

In 2023-24, there were 1.5 million households in England that contained a concealed household (defined as having at least one additional adult present who would like to buy or rent their own accommodation but could not afford to do so). This represents 6% of households in England.

• Similar proportions of households in England contained a concealed household in their household in 2019-20 (6%) and 2013-14 (6%) as in 2023-24.

A greater proportion of social rented households (8%) contained someone who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere than owner occupied (6%) or private rented (5%) households.

• The proportion of households containing someone who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere varied by region, from 4% in the North East to 8% in London.

As household income increased, so too did the proportion of households which contained a concealed household – from 1% of households in the lowest income quintile to 12% of households in the highest income quintile.

Overall, just over half (54%) of people who were living in a concealed household were aged 16 to 24.

• Most of those living as part of a concealed household were male (61%). The remaining 39% were female.

• Most people living as part of a concealed household were the son or daughter of the HRP (85%).

Accessing the social rented sector

In 2023-24, the types of households who were most likely to want to move into the social rented sector were mostly aged between 45-64 (40%), had a white ethnic background (81%), lived in London (18%), were in the lowest income quintile (50%), had no dependent children (71%) and lived in lone female households (26%).

• The proportion of households containing someone on the waiting list for social rented properties in 2023-24 was 3%, a similar proportion to the last decade.

Presence and amount of savings

Overall, those most likely to have savings in 2023-24 were owner occupiers (79%), followed by private renters (52%) and social renters (28%).

• For all tenure types, households were more likely to have savings in 2023-24 compared with 2019-20, and similarly, households were more likely to have savings in 2019-20 compared with 2013-14.

In 2023-24, owner occupiers tended to have the most amount in savings, followed by private renters then social renters with the least.

• The most common savings amount for owner occupiers was £50,000 or more, with one third (33%) of owner occupiers reported having savings of this amount. In comparison, one third of private renters (32%) most commonly had savings between £5,000 and £15,999. One third (34%) of social renters had savings between £1,000 and £4,999.

Acknowledgements and further queries

Each year the English Housing Survey relies on the contributions of a large number of people and organisations. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) would particularly like to thank the following people and organisations, without whom the 2023-24 survey and this report, would not have been possible: all the households who gave up their time to take part in the survey, The National Centre for Social Research, the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and CADS Housing Surveys.

This report was produced by Anamaria Popa, Charlie Ridley-Johnson, Laure Mallevays at The National Centre for Social Research, in collaboration with Kelly Finnerty at MHCLG.

If you have any queries about this report, would like any further information or have suggestions for analyses you would like to see included in future EHS reports, please contact ehs@communities.gov.uk

The responsible analyst for this report is: Kelly Finnerty, Data, Analysis, Statistics and Surveys Division, MHCLG. Contact via ehs@communities.gov.uk

1. Impact on affordability

This chapter provides an overview of affordability, focusing particularly on the proportion of income spent on housing, the 40/30 ratio and the ease of paying housing costs.

Proportion of income spent on housing in 2023-24

The calculation of the proportion of income spent on housing is based on overall (gross) household income including income from benefits. This provides a measure of all the income a household has available and so assumes that all household members contribute to the housing costs.

In 2023-24, private renters (34%) spent the highest average proportion of their income on housing, followed by social renters (26%) and mortgagors (19%), Annex Table 1.1.

Across all tenure types, households with dependent children spent a lower proportion of their income on housing than those without children. This difference was the biggest for private renters (30% vs 36% respectively) followed by social renters (22% vs 28%), compared to 18% vs 19% for mortgagors.

For all tenures, those in the lowest income quintile spent a greater proportion of their income on housing compared to households in the highest income quintile. In particular, private renters in the lowest income quintile spent 63% of their income on rent, significantly higher than the 17% spent by those in the highest income quintile. For social renters, those in the lowest income quintile spent 36% of their income on housing, compared to 9% for those in the highest quintile. Mortgagors in the lowest income quintile spent 54% of their household income on their mortgage, while those in the highest quintile spent 13%.

Housing costs as a proportion of income varied significantly by region, with households in all tenures spending a higher proportion of their income in London compared with the rest of England. In London, mortgagors spent an average of 24% of their income on housing, compared to 18% in the rest of England. Social renters in London spent 31% of their income on housing, while those in other regions spent 25%. This disparity was the highest for private renters with private renters in London spending 46% of their income on rent, compared to 30% in the rest of England.

For all tenures, the Northern regions - the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber - were the regions where households generally spent the lowest proportion of income on housing costs.

Figure 1.1: Percentage spent on housing costs by tenure, 2013-14, 2019-20 and 2023- 24

^{Base: all households
Source: English Housing Survey, full household sample}

Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, private renters saw an increase in the proportion of income spent on rent, rising from 32% to 34%. This is especially pronounced among those in the lowest income quintile, where the proportion of household income spent on rent rose from 56% in 2019-20 to 63% in 2023-24.

Over the longer term (2013-14 to 2023-24), only social renters (including housing association and local authority tenants) experienced a meaningful reduction in housing cost burden, spending three percentage points less of their income on rent in 2023-24 (26%) than in 2013-14 (29%). Mortgagors’ housing costs remained relatively stable over the decade, although in London, mortgagors experienced a sharper rise in costs, from 19% in 2019-20 to 24% in 2023-24.

Affordability of housing: the 40/30 ratio

The 40/30 ratio is a measure of affordability that shows the proportion of households in the lowest two income quintiles – the lowest 40% – who spend more than 30% of their income on housing. The underlying assumption is that households that have a higher income and spend more than 30% on rent can more easily do so, as they have a higher residual income for other living costs. This is not necessarily the case for households with low incomes. The 40/30 ratio therefore provides an indication of the extent to which high housing costs may cause households financial stress.

In 2023-24, seven in ten (71%) of private renters in the lowest two income quintiles spent more than 30% of their household income on rent. This is substantially higher than the 42% of social renters in the lowest income quintiles, and 33% of lower income mortgagors, Annex Table 1.2.

For social renters, households without dependent children were more likely to spend more than 30% of their income on rent - 45% of social renters without dependent children spent more than 30% on rent compared to 32% of those with dependent children.

Across all tenures, a higher proportion of households in London spent more than 30% of their earnings on rent compared to the rest of England. In London, the majority of private renters (96%) spent more than 30% of their earnings on rent, compared to 64% of social renters and 60% of mortgagors. In contrast, across the rest of England, 65% of private renters, 37% of social renters, and 31% of mortgagors spent more than 30% of their earnings on housing costs.

Ease of paying housing costs

The EHS asks respondents whether they had difficulty paying their rent or mortgage over the past 12 months. In this section, mortgagors and shared owners are grouped together.

Overall, households in the lowest income quintile, those with children and those in London were more likely to find it difficult to afford housing costs, Annex Table 1.3.

Private renters were the most likely to report difficulty affording their housing costs at 32%, followed by social renters at 28%, and mortgagors were the least likely to report difficulty affording their housing costs (14%).

Across all tenure types, households in the lowest income quintile found it more difficult to afford their housing costs. The disparity was most pronounced among private renters, with 42% in the lowest income quintile reporting difficulties compared to 21% in the highest income quintile. Among social renters, 31% in the lowest income quintile found it difficult compared to 20% in the highest income quintile. For mortgagors, 9% in the highest income quintile found it difficult, compared to 29% in the lowest income quintile.

For social renters, the presence of children did not significantly affect their reported difficulty. However, for private renters, those with dependent children (39%) were more likely to report difficulty affording housing costs compared to those without children (29%).Similarly, for mortgagors, those with dependent children (16%) were more likely to find it difficult compared to those without children (12%).

In London, private renters (44%) and social renters (38%) were both more likely to report having difficulty paying for their housing costs, compared to 21% of mortgagors. This pattern was consistent across the rest of England, although with lower percentages: 28% of private renters and 26% of social renters found it difficult to afford their rent, compared to 13% of mortgagors.

Private renters consistently found it more difficult to afford rent in London (44%) compared to 18% in the North East and 22% in the South-West. London also had a higher proportion of social renters who found it difficult to afford rent (38%) compared to all other regions, with the biggest difference being in the East Midlands (18%). For mortgagors, all regions found it significantly easier to pay their mortgage compared to London, with the highest differences with London in the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber, where 9% and 11% of households respectively found it difficult to afford housing costs compared to 21% of households in London.

Year comparisons: 2023-24, 2019-20 and 2013-14

Overall, private renters in 2023-24 and 2013-14 were equally likely to report difficulty paying rent, at 32% and 33% respectively, while in 2019-20 this fell to 27%. Among social renters, the proportion reporting difficulty was higher in 2013-14 (41%), before falling to 27% in 2019-20 and then remaining stable at 28% in 2023-24. Private renters were more likely to find paying rent difficult compared to social renters in 2023-24, but social renters were more likely to report difficulty than private renters in 2013-14, Figure 1.2, Annex Table 1.3.

Figure 1.2: Proportion of households finding it difficult to afford housing costs, 2013-14, 2019-20, 2023-24

^{Base: all households
Source: English Housing Survey, full household sample Note: For 2013-14 and 2019-20, the question on ease of paying mortgage was not asked}

For private renters, the proportion of renters finding it difficult to afford rent was similar in 2023-24 and 2013-14 regardless of income, presence of dependent children or age.

In London, more private renters reported difficulty affording rent in 2023-24 (44%) compared with 2013-14 (34%). However, in the rest of England a higher proportion of private renters found it difficult to afford housing costs in 2013-14 (32%) compared with 2023-24 (28%).

Private renters with no children reported more difficulty in 2023-24 (29%) compared with 2019-20 (22%). This difference was also most notable in the highest income quintile where almost twice as many private renters (21%) found it difficult to afford rent in 2023-24 compared with 2019-20 (11%). Younger HRPs aged 16 to 24 were also twice as likely to find paying rent privately difficult in 2023-24 (32%) compared with 2019-20 (16%).

In 2013-14 social renters in the lowest income quintiles were more likely to report difficulty affording rent compared with 2023-24, with 48% of social renters in the lowest quintile reporting difficulty in 2013-14, compared with 31% in 2023-24.

2. Accessing property ownership

This chapter explores in detail the profile of first-time buyers and renters expecting to buy in the future. First-time buyers are defined here as households who purchased a property that is their main home in the last three years and have not previously owned a property.

Age and region of first-time buyers

The overall number of first-time buyers increased from 617,000 households in 2013-14, to 827,000 in 2019-20 and 975,000 in 2023-24, Annex Table 2.1.

In 2023-24, the majority of first-time buyers were aged between 25 and 34 years old (60%) and 21% were aged 35 to 44 years old. Of the remaining first-time buyers, 10% were aged between 45 and 64, 7% were aged 16 to 24 and only 2% were aged 65 or over.

First-time buyers in 2023-24 had a similar age profile, compared with a decade before in 2013-14, but were more likely to be aged between 45 and 64 (10%) in 2023-24 compared with 2019-20 (4%).

In 2023-24, 15% of first-time buyers bought a property in London, whereas 85% bought a property outside of London. This differs compared with 2013-14, when a quarter (25%) of first-time buyers bought in London and the remaining 75% in the rest of England, Annex Table 2.2.

The number of first-time buyers in most of the other English regions has not changed substantially over the last decade. A notable exception to this is that compared with 2013-14 and 2019-20, Yorkshire and the Humber had a higher proportion of first-time buyers in 2023-24 (13%, compared with 7% and 6%, respectively).

Deposit proportion for first-time buyers

In 2023-24, most first-time buyers (40%) paid a deposit between 10-19% of the property price and 22% paid a deposit between 20-29%, Annex Table 2.3.

First-time buyers paid similar deposit proportions in 2023-24 and 2013-14, with most first-time buyers also paying 10-19% of the purchase price in 2013-14 (45%). Compared with 2019-20, more first-time buyers in 2023-24 paid a deposit between 20-29% (13% in 2019-20 and 22% in 2023-24) and fewer first-time buyers paid a deposit between 1-9% (25% and 16%).

Source of deposit for first-time buyers

First-time buyers were asked what sources of finance they used to cover their deposit. They could select as many sources as applied to them. The majority of first-time buyers used money from savings (86%) to contribute to their deposit, while almost a third said they were gifted or loaned the money from family or friends (31%), 12% used other sources to finance their deposit and 9% said they used inherited money, Annex Table 2.4.

Younger first-time buyers were more likely to use savings to contribute to their deposit compared to older first-time buyers (91% for those aged 25 to 34 compared to 59% for those aged 45 to 64).

First-time buyers in London and outside of London did not differ widely in terms of the sources of financing they used for their deposit. The majority of first-time buyers in London (90%) and outside of London (85%) used savings to contribute to their deposit, while 22% in London and 33% outside of London received at least some deposit money as a gift or loan from family or friends, Annex Table 2.5.

First-time buyers in the lowest income quintiles were less likely to have used savings to contribute to their deposit. Only 57% of first-time buyers with an income in the second lowest income quintile used savings to contribute to their deposit, compared to 92% in the fifth income quintile, Annex Table 2.6.

Lone female first time buyers were less likely to have used gifts or loans from family or friends to contribute to their first home compared to first-time buyers living in lone male households (17% and 42% respectively), Annex Table 2.7.

Length of mortgage for first-time buyers

Most first-time buyers had a mortgage running for 25 years or more (85%). Younger first- time buyers aged 25 to 34 were more likely to have longer mortgages of 35 years or more (43%), compared to buyers aged over 35 (4% of first-time buyers aged 35 to 44), Annex Table 2.8.

First-time buyers outside of London were more likely to have lengthy mortgages of 35 years or more (32%) than shorter ones (only 8% had a mortgage under 20 years). In comparison, in London, 22% had a mortgage running for 35 years or more, Annex Table 2.9.

Buying aspirations among renters

In 2023-24, about 2.6 million private renters and less than 1 million social renters expected to buy a home in the future. Overall, private renters were more likely to expect to buy a property compared to social renters (57% and 25%, respectively), Annex Table 2.10.

Compared with 2019-20, social renters were less likely to expect to buy a property in 2023-24 (28% versus 25%), but private renters were as likely to expect to buy (59% versus 57%). In 2013-14, 61% of private renters and 25% of social renters expected to buy a property.

Younger private and social renters were more likely to expect to buy a property than older renters. Around three in four private and social renters aged 16 to 24 (73% and 69%) expected to buy a property, compared to 10% and 3% of private and social renters aged 65 and over, Annex Table 2.10.

In terms of buying aspirations across regions, private and social renters living in London were more likely to expect to buy (62% and 33%, respectively) compared to private and social renters living outside of London in the rest of England (56% and 23%), Annex Table 2.11.

Renters with a higher income were more likely to expect to buy a property compared to renters with a lower income, regardless of tenure. Of private renters in the highest income quintile, 80% expected to buy a property compared to only 30% in the lowest income quintile. This compares to 45% of social renters in the highest income quintile who expected to buy versus only 17% in the lowest income quintile, Annex Table 2.12.

Private and social renters living in lone female households were less likely to expect to buy a home compared to renters living in lone male households (22% and 32%, respectively).Only 37% and 13% of private and social renters in lone female households expected to buy a property, compared to 47% and 17% of private and social renters in lone male households, Annex Table 2.13.

Private and social renters with dependent children were more likely to expect to buy a home compared to renters without dependent children. Overall, 63% of private renters and 44% of social renters with dependent children expected to buy a property compared to renters with no dependent children (55% and 17%, respectively), Annex Table 2.14. Private renters in couples with dependent children were as likely as couples with no children to buy a home (75% and 71%, respectively), but fewer private renters living as couples with independent children expected to do so (53%).

Private renters living as lone parents with dependent children were more likely to expect to buy a home (45%), compared to private renters living as lone parents with independent children (28%), Annex Table 2.13.

Social renters in couples with dependent children were more likely to expect to buy a home (52%), compared to social renters in couples with no children (20%) or in couples with independent children (27%). They were also more likely to expect to buy a home compared to households with lone parents (with dependent children – 43% or with independent children – 14%).

3. Concealed households

This chapter provides an overview of ‘concealed’ households. As part of the EHS interview, households are asked some questions about all members of the household, including the circumstances of additional adults in the household such as grown-up children, nieces and nephews, adult siblings, friends, or parents or grandparents who might otherwise be living elsewhere. There are many possible reasons that additional adults might be living as part of a household, including caring responsibilities, being cared for by another household member, waiting to move into their own property and simply preferring to live as part of the household. This chapter focuses on those additional adults who wanted to rent or buy elsewhere but could not afford to do so. We refer to these as ‘concealed’ households, as they could form their own household if their circumstances were different.

In 2023-24, there were approximately 1.5 million households in England that contained an additional ‘concealed’ household – a person or persons who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere. This represents 6% of all households in England. This is similar to previous years, with 6% of households in both 2019-20 and 2013-14 including at least one person who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere, Annex Table 3.1.

For further analysis of concealed households and additional adults done using EHS data previously, see the 2015-16 Future Homeowners Report and 2018-19 Sofa Surfing and Concealed Households fact sheet.

Where do concealed households live?

This section examines the household characteristics of the households that contain additional adults who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere, or ‘concealed households’. The demographic characteristics referenced are the characteristics of the Household Reference Person (HRP). The HRP is the person in whose name the accommodation is owned or rented. The HRP cannot be the person who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere.

The proportion of households containing someone who could not afford to rent or buy varied by tenure. There were a greater proportion of social rented households (8%) with someone who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere than owner occupied (6%) or private rented (5%) households, Annex Table 3.2.

Presence of dependent children

Overall, there were about 410,000 households in England containing concealed households where a dependent child was also living, representing 6% of all households. Note that this describes households where there are also dependent children living, though not necessarily that the dependent children are part of the concealed household.

Ethnicity

Overall, 8% of households with an ethnic minority HRP contained at least one adult who was living there because they could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere. This was a greater proportion than the 6% of households with a white HRP in the same situation. This pattern was seen within social renters, where 11% of households with an ethnic minority HRP and 7% of households with a white HRP contained a concealed household, and owner occupiers, where 9% of households with an ethnic minority HRP and 6% of households with a white HRP contained a concealed household. However, this was not the case for private renters, where the apparent difference was not significant.

Region

The proportion of households containing someone who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere varied by region, from 4% in the North East to 8% in London. A greater proportion of social renting households in London (11%) than in the rest of England (7%) contained someone who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere.

Income

As income increased, so too did the proportion of households containing someone who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere – from 1% of households in the lowest income quintile to 12% of households in the highest income quintile.

This pattern was seen across tenures, although was particularly pronounced for social renters, where 2% of households in the lowest income quintile contained someone who could not afford to rent or buy, compared to 30% of those in income quintile four and 32% of those in the highest income quintile.

Household type

Over a third (35%) of other multi-person households contained someone who could not afford to rent or buy. This was a greater proportion than the 7% of households composed of couples with no dependent children, 4% of couples with dependent children and 6% of lone parents with dependent children.

Other multi-person households are households made up of lone parents with independent children only, two or more families sharing and lone persons sharing with other lone persons.

Age of the HRP

Households with a HRP aged 45 to 64 had the highest proportion of those who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere living with them at 11%. Smaller proportions lived in households where the HRP was aged 16 to 24 (6%), 25 to 34 (2%), 35 to 44 (4%), 65 to 74 (5%) and 75 or older (1%).

Who are the concealed households?

This section examines the people who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere, focusing particularly on their age, sex and the relationship they have to the HRP.

People who could not afford to rent or buy elsewhere tended to be younger, male and living with their parents. Just over half (54%) were aged 16 to 24. A further 35% were aged 25 to 34. Nevertheless, some people who could not afford to live elsewhere were older, with 8% aged 35 to 44 and 3% aged 45 to 64, Annex Table 3.3.

Most of those who were living in a concealed household were male (61%).

The majority (85%) of those who could not afford to rent or to buy on their own were the son or daughter of the HRP. Smaller proportions were living in households where they were the HRP’s other non-relative (10%), brother or sister (1%), grandchild (1%), other relative (1%) or brother or sister-in-law (less than 1%). Other non-relatives could be for example friends of the HRP. Other relatives could be for example nieces or nephews of the HRP.

This pattern was also seen for those living in owner occupied and social rented homes. However, for private renters, nearly half (49%) were a non-relative of the HRP, a similar proportion to the 41% who were the son or daughter of the HRP.

4. Accessing the social rented sector

This chapter discusses accessing the social rented sector. It first provides a profile of households where the HRP wants to move into social rented accommodation before moving on to discuss waiting lists.

Profile of HRPs wanting to move into the social rented sector

The dominant profile of those who wanted to move into the social rented sector in 2023-24 suggests those with lower incomes and living alone were more likely to want to access social housing.

Of those who wanted to move into the social rented sector, most HRPs were aged between 45 and 64 years old (40%), were female (59%), had a white ethnic background (81%), lived in London (18%), were in the lowest income quintile (50%), had no dependent children (71%) and lived in lone female households (26%), Annex Table 4.1.

Of HRPs who wanted to move into the private rented sector, most were aged between 45-64 years (30%), were male (56%), had a white ethnic background (77%), lived in London (21%), had an income in the lowest two income quintiles (53%), had no children (72%) and lived in lone male households (25%).

Most HRPs who wanted to move into owner occupation, including shared ownership, were aged between 45 and 64 (36%), were male (59%), had a white ethnic background (85%), lived in the South-East of England (17%), had an income in the highest income quintile (25%), had no children (74%) and lived in couples with no children (33%).

Waiting lists

Overall, the proportion of households containing at least one person on the Council or Housing Association waiting list for social rented properties in 2023-24 was 3%. This proportion has remained consistently at 3% over the last decade (it was also 3% in 2019- 20 and 2013-14 respectively), Annex Table 4.2.

When comparing the proportions of households on the Council or Housing Association waiting list in each tenure across 10 years, in 2023-24 fewer HRPs in owner occupation (less than 1%) or in the private rented sector (6%) said their household was on a housing waiting list compared with in 2013-14 (also less than 1% and 8% respectively). Of social renters, 8% of households were on a Council or Housing Association waiting list in 2023- 24, similar to 2013-14 (9%).

Owner occupiers were more likely to be on the Council or Housing Association waiting list for more than 10 years (31%), compared with private renters (8%) and social renters (6%). There were no differences observed between social and private renters in terms of length of time spent on the housing waiting list, Annex Table 4.3.

5. Presence and amount of savings

This chapter explores how the presence and amount of household savings have varied by tenure over the last decade.

Figure 5.1: Presence of savings, by tenure, 2013-14, 2019-20 and 2023-24

^{Base: all households
Source: English Housing Survey, full household sample}

Between 2013–14 and 2023–24, the proportion of households with savings increased across all tenure types. In 2013–14, 65% of owner occupiers, 33% of private renters, and 16% of social renters reported having savings, Figure 5.1, Annex Table 5.1.

By 2019–20, these figures rose to 68% for owner occupiers, 40% for private renters, and 20% for social renters. The upward trend continued into 2023–24, with 79% of owner occupiers, 52% of private renters, and 28% of social renters having savings. Owner occupiers have consistently been the most likely to have savings, followed by private renters and then social renters.

In 2023–24, the amount of savings varied by tenure. Owner occupiers tended to have the highest savings, with 33% having £50,000 or more. Private renters most commonly had savings between £5,000 and £15,999 (32%). One third of social renters had savings between £1,000 and £4,999 (34%), Annex Table 5.2.

The distribution of savings remained fairly stable during the last decade. Owner occupiers had the highest savings in 2019-20 and 2013-14 with 35% and 29% respectively having over £50,000. In both 2019-20 and 2013-14, 28% of private renters had between £5,000 and £15,999. For social renters, 31% had savings between £5,000 and £15,999 and 27% between £1,000 and £4,999 in 2019-20. In 2013-14, 30% of social renters had savings between £1,000 and £4,999.