Among the many positives contained in the latest findings from the English Housing Survey was the surprise news that overcrowding in the social and private rented sectors has dramatically increased.

In 2018/19, eight per cent of all social renters lived in overcrowded properties, up from five per cent in 1998/99. Over the same period, the number of private renters living in overcrowded accommodation doubled from three to six per cent. Overcrowding now affects 600,000 households in the rented sectors. Among owner-occupiers, just one per cent are in overcrowded homes.

Conversely over the same 20-year period the proportion of owner occupiers living in under- occupied homes (having two or more spare bedrooms) jumped from 42 to 52 per cent. Meanwhile under-occupation in the social rented sector decreased from 12 to 8 per cent and in the private rented sector from 20 to 14 per cent.

The latest state of the nation’s housing report also highlighted many improvements. However, the rate of improvement appears to have stalled in recent years and is in danger of flatlining in various areas unless new initiatives can kick start a fresh round of improvements.

The energy efficiency of English homes has increased considerably over the last 20 years, but has slowed markedly in recent years. Newly built properties are clearly being built with higher levels of insulation included, sometimes with unforseen problems of overheating.

In 2018, the average SAP rating of English dwellings edged up to 63 points, from 62 in 2017. This increase was evident in all tenures apart from housing association dwellings where there was no significant increase.

The proportion of dwellings in the highest SAP energy efficiency rating (EER) bands A to C increased considerably between 2008 and 2018, from nine to 34 per cent. Over the same period, the proportion of dwellings in the lowest F and G bands fell from 14 to four per cent.

Owner-occupiers and residents living in newer houses or high-rise flats were more likely to report overheating. In 2018, seven per cent of residents reported that at least one part of their home got uncomfortably hot. Owner-occupiers (at eight per cent) were more likely to report overheating than social renters (six per cent).

Residents in homes built prior to 1965 were less likely to report that their home got uncomfortably hot (six per cent) compared to those in homes built after 1990 (nine per cent). 
Residents in high rise flats were more likely to report that at least part of their home got uncomfortably hot (12 per cent), compared with those in low rise flats and terraced houses or semi-detached houses (all seven per cent).

Over the last decade, the proportion of non-decent homes has fallen. In 2008, 33 per cent of the country’s entire housing stock was classified as non-decent, but by 2018 this had fallen to 18 per cent. Non-decent rates stood at 12 per cent in the social rented sector, 17 per cent among owner occupied homes and 25 per cent of private rented homes.

Fewer hazards and fewer council homes

Across all tenures, the proportion of homes with HHSRS Category 1 hazards has declined over the past decade. In 2018, 11 per cent of the housing stock had a HHSRS Category 1 hazard, down from 23 per cent in 2008. Such hazards are more prevalent in the private rented sector (14 per cent) than the owner occupied housing stock (11) and the social rented sector (five).

While the private rented sector had the highest proportion of homes with a Category 1 hazard, there was a notable decrease in the proportion of stock with such hazards, from 31 per cent in 2008 to 14 per cent in 2018.

Over the last decade, the proportion of non-decent homes has declined.

In 2008, 33% of the stock was non-decent. This has fallen to 18% in 2018.

Rates of tenure in housing have flat-lined with owner-occupation unchanged for the sixth year in a row, at 64 per cent (an estimated15 million households in England), while private rented accounted for 4.6 million or 19 per cent of households and the social rented sector stood at 4 million or 17 per cent.

However, the composition of the social rented sector has changed in recent years. In 2008/09, 2 million households rented from housing associations and 1.9 million from local authorities. By 2018/19, 2.4 million rented from housing associations 1.6 million from local authorities.

One significant change is among younger adults. After more than a decade of decline, the proportion of 25-34 year olds in owner occupation has increased and there are now almost equal proportions of 25-34 year olds living in the private rented and owner occupied sectors at 41 per cent in each.

Between 2003/04 and 2013/14, the proportion of 25-34 year olds in owner occupation decreased from 59 to 36 per cent, before recently increasing to 41. Meanwhile, the proportion of 25-34 year olds in the private rented sector declined from its peak at 48 per cent in 2013/14 to 41 in 2018/19.

In a sign of the times, the proportion of homes with smart meters has increased. In 2018, 22 per cent of dwellings with mains electricity had an electricity smart meter and 21 per cent of dwellings with mains gas supply had a gas one, up from 15 and 14 respectively in 2017.

By Patrick Mooney, Editor