According to the latest annual English Housing Survey published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), there are 3.84 million private tenants, compared to 3.8 million social tenants.
The DCLG suggested that this rise is due to two main factors – the boom in the buy-to-let market and the continuing struggle for young professionals to save for a deposit and obtain a mortgage.
Home ownership still accounts for around two-thirds of all homes in England. Some 14.4 million households are owner-occupiers, which is similar to the previous year’s report. The proportion of owner-occupiers has fallen since the peak in 2003, the report shows.
"The figures provide further evidence of the shift away from owner-occupation in favour of the rental sector," said Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
“An increasing proportion of the population is turning to the private rented sector for shelter with the latest figures showing this form of tenure overtaking the social rented sector last year.”
Further findings from the report include:
• Private renters are generally younger than social renters. Half of private tenants are under 35, compared to one in five social tenants. Nearly a third of social tenants are over 65, compared to fewer than one in 10 private tenants.
• Average weekly rents of £164 for private tenants are almost twice as the £83 paid by social tenants.
• Overcrowding is an issue in 6% of private rented homes.
• Just 5% of all homes suffer from damp, down from 13% in 1996.
• Energy efficiency has improved – the average SAP rating is up 12 points from 1996.
• The proportion of dwellings with the highest energy efficiency rating has also increased considerably in the last 16 years.
“This new peak in demand for rental is unsurprising given current trends in demographics and economics,” said Nick Cuff, development manager at developer Essential Living.
“Ensuring that planning departments recognize the role of the private rented sector in delivering local housing need and that government departments make their land available in innovative ways is vital if we are to fulfil the opportunities here to make a real difference to UK housing supply.”
