For the first time since the 1960s, there are more
people in England renting from private landlords than from councils or housing
associations.
The
English Housing Survey for 2011-12 shows that the rising number of private
tenants, 3.84 million, outnumbered the 3.8 million in social housing.
The trend
partly reflects the boom in buy-to-let ownership.
It also
reflects increasing demand for rented homes from a rising population and those
locked out of home ownership.
But the
report, published by the Department for Communities & LocalGovernment (DCLG) pointed out that home-ownership, although
still in decline, still accounted for roughly two-thirds of all homes in
England.
"Owner
occupation remained the largest tenure group with 14.4 million households,
comprising around two-thirds (65%) of all households," it said.
"There
has been a downward trend in the proportion of owner occupiers since the peak
of 71% in 2003 but the proportion in 2011-12 was very similar to that in
2010-11," it added.
Simon
Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
(Rics) said these trends would persist in the coming years.
"The
figures provide further evidence of the shift away from owner-occupation in
favour of the rental sector," he said.
"Provisional
data for the last financial year puts the proportion of households in their own
property at the lowest point since 1987.
"Meanwhile,
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," he added.
Post-war shift
The last
time there was a switch in the balance between private renters and those in
council or housing association homes was in the middle of the 1960s.
The
post-war slum clearance programmes and the government inspired boom in council
house building provided new homes to rent for millions of families.
In 1961,
the declining number of private tenants in England still outnumbered the rising
number of social tenants by 4.7 million to 3.2 million.
Ten years
later, in 1971, the position had reversed and social tenants outnumbered
renters in private accommodation by 4.6 million to 3.2 million.
The peak
year for council or housing association tenancies was in 1981 when there were
5.6 socially-owned properties in England - most owned by local authorities.
