Indicator
Households experiencing one or more housing problems by tenure
Published
3 July 2024
Last updated
20 June 2025
Time to read
About 2 mins
About 2 mins
Key points
- Of all households with at least one housing problem, 33% are in the private rented sector, 28% in the social rented sector and 38% are owner-occupied.
- Households experiencing multiple housing problems are mostly in the private and social rented sector.
Problems with people’s homes – non-decent homes, overcrowding and unaffordable costs – can influence their health. Non-decent homes include problems such as damp and cold, which can directly harm health. Overcrowding and poor affordability can cause stress and influence mental health. If someone experiences more than one of these problems, this risks further harm to their health.
This chart shows how different types and combinations of housing problems are split between tenure types in England.
- Owner-occupied housing makes up the majority of households in England, at around 64.8%. However, owner-occupied homes account for 61.3% of non-decent homes, and only 11.9% of overcrowded and 16.8% of unaffordable homes.
- The percentage of households experiencing at least one housing problem is split fairly evenly across different tenures: 33.3% in private rented, 28.3% in social rented, and 38.3% in owner-occupied. However, since the majority of housing in England is owner-occupied, this means private and social renters are much more likely to experience housing problems.
- Households experiencing multiple housing problems are mostly in the social and private rented sector.
- Non-decent homes are defined as those with a Category 1 hazard – as assessed by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) – that are not in a reasonable state of repair, lack reasonably modern facilities or are not warm enough (do not provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort).
- Overcrowding is measured by comparing the number of household members against a bedroom standard. This standard sets the number of rooms a household needs, based on the relationship status of adults in the household, and the age and sex of the children.
- Unaffordable housing is where more than a third (33%) of household income (net of housing benefit) is spent on housing costs.
- ‘All three problems’ is based on a low sample size (25 households) and as such should be treated as indicative.
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, English Housing Survey, England, 2023–24
