Dwelling Stock Statistics - March 2018

The latest Dwelling Stock Estimates, from the ONS, show there are 24.2 million dwellings in England (on 31 March 2018). This is an increase of 222,000 dwellings (0.93%) on the same point on the previous year.

The breakdown of the 24.2 million dwellings by tenure is as follows:

• 15.3 million owner occupied dwellings; 
• 4.8 million private rented dwellings; and 
• 4 million social and affordable rented dwellings.

Between March 2017 and March 2018, the owner-occupied dwelling stock increased by 226,000 and the private rented stock increased by 10,000. The social and affordable rented stock decreased by 1,000 dwellings and the other public sector stock decreased by 13,000 dwellings.

As a consequence, the proportion of dwellings by tenure has remained almost unchanged, with a minor increase in the proportion of owner-occupation, and minor decreases in private, social and affordable rent. It is currently broken down as:

• Owner occupation – 63.2% (a 0.4 percentage point increase on 2017).
• Private rent – 19.9% (a 0.1 percentage point decrease on 2017).
• Social and affordable rent – 16.7% (a 0.2 percentage point decrease on 2017).

While it is encouraging to see a proportional increase in owner occupation and an increase in real terms, it is clear that a step-change is required to get the significant change the country needs.

In the HFi's recent report, A Time for Good Homes, we were clear that there should be a move toward stable tenures, defined as a mixture of owner-occupation and social rent (with a floor on the number of social rent properties). We suggested a return to the traditional proportion of stable tenure – 90% of the population living in a form of stable tenure. Currently, fewer than 80% of the population live in a stable tenure. More homes must be built, faster to realise this ambition, together with the structural reforms we recommended.

Read the full statistical release here.

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