Leasehold dwellings, 2021 to 2022
Published 11 May 2023
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/leasehold-dwellings-2021-to-2022/leasehold-dwellings-2021-to-2022
1. In this release:
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In 2021-22, there were an estimated 4.98 million leasehold dwellings in England. This equates to 20% of the English housing stock. Of these, 2.86 million dwellings (57%) were in the owner occupied sector and 1.85 million (37%) were privately owned and let in the private rented sector. The remaining 272,000 (5%) were dwellings owned by social landlords and let in the social rented sector.
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70% of the leasehold dwellings in England (3.5 million) were flats; the other 30% (1.5 million) were houses.
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At regional level, London and the North West had the highest proportion of leasehold dwellings, at 36% and 32% respectively, significantly higher than all other regions in England which had between 9% and 17%.
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The number of leasehold dwellings in England increased in the two years between 2019-20 and 2021-22, from 4.65 million to 4.98 million. The apparent increase from 4.86 million in 2020-21 to 4.98 million in 2021-22 is not statistically significant.
Release date: 11 May 2023
Date of next release: May 2024
Responsible Statistician: Stephen Pottinger
Media enquiries: 0303 444 1209 / NewsDesk@levellingup.gov.uk
2. Introduction
This release presents an estimate of the number of leasehold dwellings in England in 2021-22, split by tenure, dwelling type and region, and as a proportion of the overall housing stock.
3. Results
In 2021-22, there were an estimated 4.98 million leasehold dwellings in England. This equates to 20% of the English housing stock.
As this estimate is based on a sample of dwellings, a confidence interval around the estimate has been calculated. Using a 95% confidence interval, the 2021-22 estimate of 4.98 million sits within a lower bound of 4.75 million and an upper bound of 5.21 million leasehold dwellings.
Of these 4.98 million leasehold dwellings, 2.86 million dwellings (57%) were in the owner occupied sector and 1.85 million (37%) were privately owned and let in the private rented sector. The remaining 272,000 (5%) were dwellings owned by social landlords and let in the social rented sector.
Looking within tenure, 18% of owner occupied homes, 38% of homes in the private rented sector and 7% of homes in the social rented sector are owned on a leasehold basis, Table 1.
The majority of leasehold dwellings (70%) were flats with 3.5 million leasehold flats across all tenures (3.3 million in the private sector and 170,000 in the social rented sector). There were 1.5 million leasehold houses in 2021-22 which made up the remaining 30% of leasehold dwellings.
While 58% of all the flats in England were leasehold, the proportions varied by tenure. In the private sector, 82% of flats were owned on a leasehold basis (94% of owner occupied flats and 71% of privately rented flats). A much smaller proportion (9%) of flats in the social rented sector were owned on a leasehold basis.
Leasehold houses were less prevalent than leasehold flats. This was true across all tenures. Overall, 8% of houses were found to be owned on a leasehold basis. This was highest in the private rented sector (10%), and lowest in the local authority side of the social sector (1%).
Table 1: Leasehold as a proportion of stock and number of dwellings, by tenure and dwelling type, 2021-22
| Houses: % dwellings leasehold | Houses: number of leasehold dwellings (thousands) | Flats: % dwellings leasehold | Flats: number of leasehold dwellings (thousands) | Total: % dwellings leasehold | Total: number of leasehold dwellings (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner occupied | 8.1 | 1,128 | 93.8 | 1,732 | 18.0 | 2,861 |
| Private rented sector | 9.9 | 262 | 71.4 | 1,585 | 37.9 | 1,846 |
| All private sector | 8.3 | 1,390 | 81.6 | 3,317 | 22.7 | 4,707 |
| Local authority | 1.3 | 10 | 4.7 | 38 | 3.0 | 48 |
| Housing association | 6.5 | 91 | 11.8 | 133 | 8.9 | 224 |
| All social sector | 4.6 | 101 | 8.8 | 170 | 6.6 | 272 |
| All tenures | 7.9 | 1,491 | 58.2 | 3,487 | 20.0 | 4,978 |
Sources: English Housing Survey; HM Land Registry; DLUHC Dwelling Stock Estimate 2021; VOA Council Tax Stock of Properties 2021.
Notes: Percentages are rounded to one decimal place; based on 10,109 cases.
Based on Annex Tables AT 1 and AT 3.
4. Regional results
Although 20% of the housing stock in England was owned on a leasehold basis, this varied greatly by region. London had the highest proportion of leasehold dwellings of the 9 regions in England, 36% (1.4 million dwellings), closely followed by the North West, 32% (1.1 million dwellings). The remaining regions had a much lower proportion of leasehold dwellings, with the East Midlands having the lowest (9%), just 192,000 dwellings, Figure 1 and Table 2 (below).
Figure 1: Proportion of housing stock owned on a leasehold basis, by region, 2021-22
| Region | Percentage |
|---|---|
| London | 36.3 |
| North West | 31.6 |
| South East | 17.4 |
| South West | 15.3 |
| North East | 15.2 |
| East of England | 14.7 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 14.6 |
| West Midlands | 12.6 |
| East Midlands | 9.0 |
Sources: English Housing Survey; HM Land Registry; DLUHC Dwelling Stock Estimates 2021; VOA Council Tax Stock of Properties 2021.
Underlying data are presented in Annex Table 4.
Looking at houses and flats separately, the proportion of leasehold houses also varied by region. Most notably, 28% of houses in the North West were owned on a leasehold basis, a significantly greater proportion than in any other region (the next highest was 10% in Yorkshire and the Humber, which borders the North West region).
However, the North West had a smaller proportion of leasehold flats (48%) than the South East (66%), East of England (65%) and London (63%). Yorkshire and the Humber also had the lowest proportion of leasehold flats (38%), Table 2.
Table 2: Leasehold as a proportion of stock and number of dwellings, by region and dwelling type, 2021-22
| Houses: % dwellings leasehold | Houses: number of leasehold dwellings (thousands) | Flats: % dwellings leasehold | Flats: number of leasehold dwellings (thousands) | Total: % dwellings leasehold | Total: number of leasehold dwellings (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 7.2 | 76 | 54.9 | 115 | 15.2 | 191 |
| North West | 28.1 | 778 | 48.1 | 286 | 31.6 | 1,064 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 10.1 | 211 | 38.4 | 151 | 14.6 | 362 |
| East Midlands | 3.9 | 72 | 44.4 | 120 | 9.0 | 192 |
| West Midlands | 4.7 | 98 | 50.9 | 222 | 12.6 | 320 |
| East of England | 3.1 | 70 | 65.3 | 332 | 14.7 | 402 |
| London | 1.5 | 24 | 62.8 | 1,331 | 36.3 | 1,355 |
| South East | 2.6 | 80 | 66.3 | 616 | 17.4 | 696 |
| South West | 4.0 | 82 | 58.8 | 314 | 15.3 | 396 |
| Total | 7.9 | 1,491 | 58.2 | 3,487 | 20.0 | 4,978 |
Sources: English Housing Survey; HM Land Registry; DLUHC Dwelling Stock Estimate 2021; VOA Council Tax Stock of Properties 2021.
Notes: Percentages are rounded to one decimal place; based on 10,109 cases.
Based on Annex Tables AT 4 and AT 6.
5. Changes over time
In 2015-16, the number of leasehold dwellings in England was around 4.25 million and it stayed close to this number in the following two years. There has been a rise in the total between 2018-19 and 2021-22 with the total now reaching 4.98 million.
However, in comparison to the previous year, 2020-21 (4.86 million), the increase is not significant, Figure 2.
Figure 2: Estimated number of leasehold dwellings, 2015-16 to 2021-22
Sources: English Housing Survey; HM Land Registry; DLUHC Dwelling Stock Estimate 2021; VOA Council Tax Stock of Properties 2021.
Underlying data are presented in Annex Table 3.
As a proportion of the total dwelling stock, 1 in 5 (20%) of dwellings in England are owned on a leasehold basis. This is unchanged from 2020-21, but higher when compared to 19% in 2018-19 and 18% between 2015-16 and 2017-18.
6. Accompanying tables and open data
Accompanying tables are available to download alongside this release.
7. Technical notes
Please see the accompanying technical notes document for further details.
8. Enquiries
Media enquiries: telephone: 0303 444 1209 / email: newsdesk@levellingup.gov.uk
Public enquiries and Responsible Statisticians: Stephen Pottinger / email: ehs@levellingup.gov.uk
Information on Official Statistics is available via the UK Statistics Authority website
Information about statistics at DLUHC is available via the Department’s website