Indicator
Regional inequalities in housing problems
Published
4 June 2024
Last updated
20 June 2025
Time to read
About 2 mins
About 2 mins
Key points
- More than two in five households in London (41%) experience at least one housing problem.
- This is in contrast to one in four households in the East (25%).
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 the percentage of households experiencing housing problems in each region in England.
- Households in London have the highest risk of experiencing one or more housing problems (40.8%). This is 9.7 percentage points higher than in the West Midlands, which has the next highest risk at 31.1%.
- 6.2% of households in London experience more than one housing problem. This is more than 2 points higher than the West Midlands (4.2%), which has the next highest percentage of multiple housing problems.
- London has the highest percentage of housing in the private rented sector, and has very high housing costs. This may partly explain why there are more housing problems compared with other regions, as private rented households are more likely than owner-occupied to experience one or multiple housing problems.
- Households in the East are the least likely to experience housing problems, with a quarter of households affected (24.8%).
- 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).
- 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 housing benefit) is spent on housing costs.
Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, English Housing Survey, England, 2023–24
