Inequalities between groups of people living in non-decent homes
About 2 mins
Key points
- Almost one in five households with the lowest incomes lived in non-decent housing in 2023, compared with over one in ten households with the highest incomes.
- People from black minority ethnic backgrounds were the most likely to live in non-decent housing.
Non-decent housing can directly affect a person’s health. For instance, poor insulation can lead to cold and damp homes, which are associated with a range of health problems. A non-decent home can also have hazards that can cause injuries, such as faulty wiring or trip hazards.
The charts show the proportion of households in England living in non-decent homes in 2023, grouped by demographics. Non-decent homes are those with a hazard of immediate threat to a person’s health, not in a reasonable state of repair, lacking modern facilities or not effectively insulated or heated.
In 2023, 15% of homes in England were classed as non-decent:
- 17.4% of households on the lowest incomes (households in the bottom 20% of the income distribution) lived in non-decent homes, 7 percentage points higher than households on the highest incomes (the top 20%).
- 18.0% of households in poverty lived in a non-decent home, compared with 13.7% of households not in poverty.
- Looking at household composition, people living alone, lone parents and people living in a shared household (multiple adults who are not related or in a relationship) were the most likely to be living in a non-decent home.
- People from a black, black British, Caribbean or African background were the most likely to live in non-decent homes – 18.4% did so in 2023. This compares with 14.2% of people from ‘other’ ethnic backgrounds, 14.2% of white people and 13.8% of people with an Asian or Asian British background.
- The proportion of households with a person who has a long-term illness or disability living in non-decent homes (15.4%) is similar to the proportion of households without (13.8%).
- Non-decent homes are defined as those with a Category 1 hazard – as assessed by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) – which identifies homes 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).
- Income is equivalised, which means it is adjusted for household size to reflect economies of scale. For example, a household of four needs more income for the same standard of living as a household of one, but not four times as much.
- A household is considered to be in poverty if their income (before housing costs) is 60% or less of the median income.
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, English Housing Survey Live Tables, Table DA3203: Decent Homes (Households), England, 2023
