Report shows 10,000 extra rentals added to English dwelling stock
06th June 2019
Rental Housing:
Between March 2017 and March 2018, the private rented dwellings in England increased by 10,000. Over the same period the owner-occupied dwelling stock increased by 226,000 while the social and affordable rented stock decreased by 1,000 dwellings. Other public sector stock decreased by 13,000 dwellings.
The figures clearly demonstrate the trend, how private landlords have increasingly become relied upon to provide the much needed extra rental housing.
The Dwelling Stock Estimates to 31 March 2018, for England published in a Government Housing Statistical Release last week (24 May 2019) show there were 24.2 million dwellings in England at 31 March 2018, an increase of 222,000 dwellings (0.93%) on the same point the previous year.
15.3 million of these dwellings were owner occupied dwellings, 4.8 million private rented dwellings and 4.0 million social and affordable rented dwellings (Private Registered Providers plus Local Authority).
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.
There were 634,453 vacant dwellings in England on 1 October 2018, an increase of 28,562 (4.7%) from 605,891 on 2 October 2017. Vacant dwellings are 2.6 per cent of the dwelling stock.
Long-term vacant dwellings numbered 216,186 on 1 October 2018, an increase of 10,893 (5.3%) from 205,293 on 2 October 2017. Long-term vacant dwellings are 0.9 per cent of the dwelling stock.
The publication states that these tenure statistics differ from those published from the English Housing Survey which are in terms of households not dwellings. In addition, the dwelling stock figures include vacant dwellings. The trends are consistent. The English Housing Survey is the primary measure of tenure, as the unit of households is the preferred metric, but the Dwelling Stock figures are a useful leading indicator.