## Survey Of English Housing Preliminary Report: 2007-08

This Report presents the preliminary findings from the final year of  
the Survey of English Housing (SEH), a household survey conducted continuously for Communities and Local Government (and its predecessor Departments) from 1993-94 to 2007-08. In April 2008 this survey was merged with the English House Condition Survey to form the new English Housing Survey. Further details can be found on the Department's website or by contacting the SEH team - contact details are given at the end of this report. The 2007-08 Survey of English Housing was carried out for Communities and Local Government by the National Centre for Social Research and it provides important housing data on owner occupation and on the social and private rented sectors. This preliminary report presents some of the key findings from the 2007-08 survey. In addition to the Survey of English Housing results for 2007-08, a number of tables based on data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for 2008 are also included due to the larger sample size of the LFS. There is however a slight time difference: LFS 2008 results relate to the average position in May 2008; SEH 2007-08 results relate to the average position at end-September 2007.

## Housing

Key Findings. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   2 1.	
Trends in tenure.
 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   3
2.	
Household type. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   6
3.	
Household size. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   7
4.	
Ethnicity. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   9
5.	
Economic status. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  11
6.	 Number of persons  
in work. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   13
7.	
Gross income . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   14
8.	
Mortgages . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   15
9.	 Social Rents. . . . . . . . . . . .  17 10.	 Private Rents. . . . . . . . . . .  18 11.	 Overcrowding.
 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   20
12.	 Length of residence. .  .  .  .   23 13.	 Recent movers. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   23 14.	Buying aspirations. .  .  .  .  .   24 15.	Attitudes to home and  
local area . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   26
Notes.
 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   28
Definitions . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   28 Reporting on the 2007/08 survey. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   32 Further information and Contact details. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   32

## Key Findings

- **Housing tenure:** In 2008 there were an estimated 14.6 million owner occupiers in England 
(68.3 per cent of the total - down from 69.6 per cent in 2007), 3.8 million social renters  
(17.7 per cent - unchanged) and 3.0 million private renters (13.9 per cent - up from 12.7 per cent in 2007).
- **Younger households and private renting:** In 2008 the proportion of younger households 
(with Household Reference Person (HRP) aged under 30) buying with a mortgage was 32 per cent and the proportion who were private renters was 45 per cent. This compares to 40 per cent buying with a mortgage and 33 per cent renting privately in 2001.
- **Owner occupation by household type:** 76 per cent of couples with dependent children were 
owner occupiers. By contrast only 35 per cent of lone parents with children were owner occupiers while 44 per cent of them were social renters. One person households were the most common household type in the social rented sector (43 per cent).
- **Household size:** The average household size in 2008 remained unchanged from 2007 at  
2.4 persons per household. There was little difference between the tenures.
- **Housing tenure by ethnicity:** In 2008, nine per cent of all households in England were ethnic 
minority households. Only seven per cent of Indian households were social renters but 49 per cent of Bangladeshi households lived in social housing. Seventy per cent of white households were owner occupiers compared to 50 per cent of ethnic minority households.
- **Mortgage type:** Around three quarters of all mortgages held in 2007-08 and taken out since 
2001 were repayment mortgages; only six per cent were endowment mortgages.
- **Mortgage difficulties:** Thirteen per cent of households buying with a mortgage reported 
either some difficulty in paying the mortgage or that they were in arrears. Over 30 per cent of unemployed households, those with at least one sick or disabled member, and those who had previously been repossessed had some difficulties or arrears.
- **Overcrowding:** There were around 565,000 overcrowded households in England - about  
2.7 per cent of all households. By region, London not only had the highest overall rate of overcrowding (6.8 per cent) - but also the highest regional rates for individual tenures: 3.0 per cent of owner occupiers; 12.7 per cent of social renters and 9.8 per cent of private renters.
- **Household moves:** Over two million households had been resident at their current address for 
less than one year. Forty per cent of private renters had moved during the previous year compared to just three per cent of outright owners. Movement within sectors was more common than movement between sectors. Forty-seven per cent of all newly-formed households had moved into the private rented sector, 34 per cent into owner occupation and 20 per cent into the social rented sector.
- **Buying aspirations:** In 2007-08, 24 per cent of social renters and 56 per cent of private 
renters said that they expected to become homeowners eventually. Of these, 28 per cent of the private renters said they expected to buy within the next two years, compared to 12 per cent of the social renters.
- **Satisfaction with home and local area:** Over 90 per cent of households reported being very 
or fairly satisfied with their current accommodation. Traffic in the local area was a problem for 52 per cent of households; litter/rubbish affected 43 per cent of households; and 39 per cent of households reported vandalism/hooliganism as a problem.

## 1. Trends In Tenure

Chart 1 and table 1 show the changing pattern of tenure in England. Over the last two decades there has been a modest growth in the population and this, coupled with the tendency for the average household size to decline, has resulted in a considerable increase in the total number of households in England. The number rose by over one million in the 1990s from 19.3 million in 1991 to 20.4 million in 2001. Growth has since continued to a total of 21.4 million households in 
2008. The proportion of owner occupied households remained steady at around 70 per cent throughout the last decade but the 2008 estimates suggest that this has now declined to 68.3 per cent. The number of households in the social sector reached a peak of around 5.5 million in 1979 but there was a substantial decline in the 1980s as a result of 'Right to Buy' purchases by sitting tenants. Numbers continued to decline at a slower rate until 2005, since when there have been modest increases, although the proportion of households in England who are social tenants has remained steady at 17.7 per cent. We are continuing to present combined figures for all social renters, rather than separate figures for council tenants and housing association tenants. This is because some housing association tenants wrongly report that they are council tenants, commonly in areas where ownership has recently transferred to housing associations. As a result the presentation of separate figures might be misleading.

Source: ONS, Labour Force Survey The number of households renting privately has increased substantially over the last decade from two million in 1998 to three million in 2008. This recent surge may be due to a combination of factors: the flexibility offered by private renting; affordability issues; increased supply due to the availability of 'buy-to-let' mortgages in recent years; and, during the past year, owners choosing to let out properties instead of trying to sell them in a difficult housing market.

 
Tenure
 
 
Owner occupiers
 
Social renters
 
Private renters Year
Own
outright
Buying with
a mortgage
All
 
 
thousands of households
19181
 
 
N/A  
N/A  
 
 
N/A
N/A
19391
 
 
3,500  
1,090  
 
 
6,460
11,050
19531
 
 
4,110  
2,240  
 
 
6,490
12,840
19611
 
 
5,990  
3,240  
 
 
4,690
13,920
19711
 
 
8,060  
4,640  
 
 
3,240
15,940
1981
4,313
5,546
9,860  
5,461  
1,486
419
1,904
17,225
1984
4,590
6,399
10,990  
5,034  
1,412
508
1,920
17,945
1988
4,834
7,414
12,248  
4,706  
1,218
484
1,702
18,656
1991
4,795
8,255
13,050  
4,435  
1,236
588
1,824
19,309


1992
4,815
8,255
13,069  
4,371  
1,184
539
1,724
19,164
1993
4,898
8,382
13,280  
4,317  
1,196
638
1,833
19,430
1994
5,008
8,421
13,429  
4,257  
1,241
628
1,869
19,555
1995
4,998
8,468
13,467  
4,245  
1,324
615
1,939
19,652
1996
5,115
8,407
13,521  
4,218  
1,382
613
1,995
19,734


19973
5,249
8,380
13,629  
4,170  
1,458
620
2,078
19,877
19983
5,404
8,413
13,817  
4,148  
1,478
585
2,063
20,028
19993
5,582
8,508
14,091  
4,072  
1,444
557
2,000
20,163
20003
5,764
8,575
14,339  
3,953  
1,489
540
2,029
20,320


20013
5,885
8,473
14,358  
3,983  
1,509
553
2,062
20,403
20023
6,019
8,540
14,559  
3,972  
1,565
567
2,131
20,662
20033
6,158
8,542
14,701  
3,804  
1,656
578
2,234
20,739
20043
6,288
8,389
14,677  
3,797  
1,745
539
2,284
20,758
20053
6,352
8,440
14,791  
3,696  
1,845
600
2,445
20,932
20063
6,425
8,365
14,790  
3,736  
1,913
654
2,566
21,092
20073
6,505
8,228
14,733  
3,755  
2,000
691
2,691
21,178
20083
6,653
7,975
14,628  
3,797  
2,216
766
2,982
21,407
percentages
19181,2
 
 
23.0  
1.0  
 
 
76.0
 100
19391
 
 
32.0  
10.0  
 
 
58.0
 100
19531
 
 
32.0  
18.0  
 
 
50.0
 100
19611
 
 
43.0  
23.0  
 
 
34.0
 100
19711
 
 
51.0  
29.0  
 
 
20.0
100
1981
25.0
32.2
57.2  
31.7  
8.6
2.4
11.1
100
1984
25.6
35.7
61.2  
28.1  
7.9
2.8
10.7
100
1988
25.9
39.7
65.7  
25.2  
6.5
2.6
9.1
100
1991
24.8
42.8
67.6  
23.0  
6.4
3.0
9.4
100


1992
25.1
43.1
68.2  
22.8  
6.2
2.8
9.0
100
1993
25.2
43.1
68.3  
22.2  
6.2
3.3
9.4
100
1994
25.6
43.1
68.7  
21.8  
6.3
3.2
9.6
100
1995
25.4
43.1
68.5  
21.6  
6.7
3.1
9.9
100
1996
25.9
42.6
68.5  
21.4  
7.0
3.1
10.1
100
 
19973
26.4
42.2
68.6  
21.0  
7.3
3.1
10.5
100
19983
27.0
42.0
69.0  
20.7  
7.4
2.9
10.3
100
19993
27.7
42.2
69.9  
20.2  
7.2
2.8
9.9
100
20003
28.4
42.2
70.6  
19.5  
7.3
2.7
10.0
100
All households
Unfurnished1
Furnished 
All 
Total 
All 
All households
 
Tenure
 
 
Owner occupiers
 
Social renters
 
Private renters
 
Unfurnished1
Furnished 
All 
Total 
 
Year
Own
outright
Buying with
a mortgage
All
 
 
All 
20013
28.8
41.5
70.4  
19.5  
7.4
2.7
10.1
 100
20023
29.1
41.3
70.5  
19.2  
7.6
2.7
10.3
 100
20033
29.7
41.2
70.9  
18.3  
8.0
2.8
10.8
 100
20043
30.3
40.4
70.7  
18.3  
8.4
2.6
11.0
 100
20053
30.3
40.3
70.7  
17.7  
8.8
2.9
11.7
 100
20063
30.5
39.7
70.1  
17.7  
9.1
3.1
12.2
 100
20073
30.7
38.9
69.6  
17.7  
9.4
3.3
12.7
 100
20083
31.1
37.3
68.3  
17.7  
10.4
3.6
13.9
 100

Sources: 1918: Estimates by Alan Holmans of Cambridge University Department of Land Economy. 1939 to 1971: "Housing Policy in Britain", Alan Holmans, Table V1. 1981 to 1991: DOE Labour Force Survey Housing Traileer. 1992 to 2008: ONS Labour Force Survey.

1	 
Derived from figures for England & Wales. It has been assumed that the percentage in each tenure in England was the same as for England & Wales as a whole.

2	 Based on share of dwellings rather than households 3	 
Figures from 1997 onwards are based on re-weighted LFS data issued in late August 2008. These will therefore differ from the corresponding figures published in previous versions of the table.

Chart 2 shows the trend in tenure over the last ten years for those households with a household reference person (HRP) aged less than thirty. There is a clear upward trend in the proportion of such households renting privately, rising from 31 per cent in 1999 to 45 per cent in 2008. Conversely the proportion buying with a mortgage fell from 43 per cent in 1999 to 32 per cent in 2008. These changes are likely to be a reflection of the high house prices over this period and the associated affordability problems which younger households have faced.

Source: ONS, Labour Force Survey

## 2. Household Type

In 2008, couples with no dependent children were the most common type of household (35 per cent) - see table 2. Eighty-one per cent of these couples owned their own home, including 45 per cent who owned outright and 36 per cent who were buying with a mortgage. Households with dependent children accounted for 29 per cent of all households: 22 per cent were couples with dependent children and seven per cent were lone parents with dependent children. Seventy-six per cent of couples with dependent children were owner occupiers, 10 per cent owning outright and 67 per cent buying with a mortgage. By contrast only 35 per cent of lone parents with children were owner occupiers while 44 per cent of them were social renters. A further 29 per cent of households were one-person households, with around half a million more female one-person households than male, 3.3 million compared to 2.8 million. One-person households were the most common household type in the social rented sector (43 per cent).

All households
 
Household type
 
One person 
households
All oneperson
households
Total
 
male
female  
Tenure
Couple, no 
dependent 
children
Couple with 
dependent
children
Lone parent 
with 
dependent
children
Other 
multiperson
household
thousands
Owned outright
3,414
439
74
408
787
1,526
2,313
6,648
Buying with a mortgage
2,726
3,076
443
411
748
566
1,314
7,970
All owner occupiers
6,139
3,516
517
818
1,535
2,092
3,627
14,617
All social renters
643
567
650
313
750
871
1,621
3,794
All private renters
754
521
310
496
553
346
899
2,980
Tenure unknown
6
1
1
2
1
5
6
16
All tenures
7,542
4,605
1,477
1,629  
2,840
3,314  
6,154
21,407
column percentages1
Owned outright
 45
 10
 5
 25
 28
 46
 38
 31
Buying with mortgage
 36
 67
 30
 25
 26
 17
 21
 37
All owner occupiers
 81
 76
 35
 50
 54
 63
 59
 68
All social renters
 9
 12
 44
 19
 26
 26
 26
 18
All private renters
 10
 11
 21
 30
 19
 10
 15
 14
All households
 100
 100
 100
 100  
 100
 100  
 100
 100
row percentages
Owned outright
 51
 7
 1
 6
 12
 23
 35
 100
Buying with mortgage
 34
 39
 6
 5
 9
 7
 16
 100
All owner occupiers
 42
 24
 4
 6
 11
 14
 25
 100
All social renters
 17
 15
 17
 8
 20
 23
 43
 100
All private renters
 25
 17
 10
 17
 19
 12
 30
 100
All households 
 35
 22
 7
 8  
 13
 15  
 29
 100

Source: ONS Labour Force Survey
1	 
Cases with unknown tenure are excluded from the calculation of percentages

## 3. Household Size

The average household size in 2008 remained unchanged from 2007 at 2.4 persons per household - see table 3. By tenure, the largest households were again those buying with a mortgage (average 2.8 persons) whilst the smallest were outright owners (average 1.9 persons). Forty-three per cent of social renters were one-person households, of whom most were elderly. Amongst owner occupiers and private renters, two-person households were the most common. Nearly one-third of owner occupiers were three or four-person households compared to about a quarter of social renters. These differences tend to reflect the large proportion of older people in the social sector and the greater concentration of middle-aged people with young families who are owner occupiers repaying a mortgage. These differences are also illustrated in chart 4. Only two per cent of all households in England in 2008 had more than five members.

 
Household size
 
 
Tenure
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven 
or more
Total
 
thousands
 
Owned outright
2,313
3,187
642
326
114
44
21
6,648
 
Buying with a mortgage
1,314
2,427
1,684
1,810
560
132
42
7,970
 
All owner occupiers
3,627
5,615
2,326
2,136
674
177
63
14,617
 
All social renters
1,621
964
554
377
163
74
41
3,794
 
All private renters
899
973
545
338
148
48
28
2,980
 
Tenure unknown
6
2
2
4
0
0
1
16
 
All tenures1
6,154
7,554
3,428
2,855
986
298
133
21,407
 
 
percentages
number
Owned outright
35
48
10
5
2
1
0
 100
1.9
Buying with a mortgage
16
30
21
23
7
2
1
 100
2.8
All owner occupiers
25
38
16
15
5
1
0
 100
2.4
All social renters
43
25
15
10
4
2
1
100
2.2
All private renters
30
33
18
11
5
2
1
 100
2.4
All tenures1
29
35
16
13
5
1
1
100
2.4

Source: ONS Labour Force Survey
1	 Including households with unknown tenure.

All households
Mean 
number of 
persons

## 4. Ethnicity

Table 4 summarises ethnicity by housing tenure for 2008 showing that there were marked differences in tenure between ethnic groups. The table shows the ethnic group of the household reference person and this is what is referred to as the ethnicity of the household. Overall, 70 per cent of white households were owner occupiers compared to 50 per cent of ethnic minority households. However, Indian households were more likely to be owner occupiers (74 per cent) than any other ethnic group. Black African households were the least likely to be owners (28 per cent). Only seven per cent of Indian households were social renters but Bangladeshi households had the highest proportion in social renting, 47 per cent. In the private rented sector there were 13 per cent of white households but 24 per cent of ethnic minority households. Thirty five per cent of Chinese households were private renters. Chart 5 illustrates the proportion of white and ethnic minority groups within each tenure. The greatest difference can be seen amongst those who owned outright, but there is a much smaller difference between those buying with a mortgage. Outright owners have a higher age profile, typically containing a high proportion of retired people who have paid off their mortgage. The ethnic minority population has a younger age profile than the white population; hence the percentage of ethnic minority households is higher among younger age groups (see chart 6). In 2008, only two per cent of households with a HRP aged 75 or over were ethnic minority households, compared to 16 per cent of those with a HRP aged 25 to 34.

All households
 
Tenure
 
Owner occupiers


Ethnic group of household
reference person1
owned
outright
buying with
a mortgage
all owner
 occupiers
all social
 renters
all private
 renters
Total
thousands
White - British
6,033
6,816
12,849
3,098
1,989
17,936
White - Other
249
306
555
154
416
1,126
All White
6,282
7,122
13,404
3,253
2,405
19,062
Black - Caribbean
38
93
131
109
29
269
Black - African
10
60
69
108
70
246
Indian
110
175
285
26
76
387
Pakistani
63
88
151
35
35
221
Bangladeshi2
8
27
35
43
14
92
Chinese2 
15
37
52
13
35
100
Mixed
13
35
47
39
34
121
Other
42
132
174
131
161
466
All ethnic minority
298
647
945
504
454
1,902
All
6,580
7,769
14,348
3,756
2,860
20,964
 
Tenure
 
Owner occupiers


owned
outright
buying with
a mortgage
all owner
 occupiers
all social
 renters
all private
 renters
Ethnic group of household
reference person1
White - British
 34
 38
 72
 17
 11
 100
White - Other
 22
 27
 49
 14
 37
 100
All White
 33
 37
 70
 17
13
 100
Black - Caribbean
 14
 35
 49
 41
 11
 100
Black - African
 4
 24
 28
 44
 28
 100
Indian
 28
 45
 74
 7
 20
 100
Pakistani
 29
 40
 68
 16
 16
 100
Bangladeshi2
 9
 29
 38
 47
 15
 100
Chinese2 
 15
 37
 52
 13
 35
 100
Mixed
 11
 29
 39
 33
 28
 100
Other
 9
 28
 37
 28
 35
 100
All ethnic minority
 16
 34
 50
 26
 24
 100
All
 31
 37
 68
 18
 14
 100

Source: ONS Labour Force Survey
1 Excludes cases for which ethnic group unknown 2 These estimates have a large sampling error because of their small sizes and (for Bangladeshis) the clustering of the Bangladeshi population.

All households
 
Total
percentages

Source: ONS, Labour Force Survey

## 5. Economic Status

In 2008, 93 per cent of household reference persons who were buying with a mortgage were working - see table 5. For private renters the percentage was 70 per cent, and for social renters the percentage was 34 per cent. For outright owners, only 37 per cent of household reference persons were working - and 57 per cent were retired.

All households
Economic status of household reference person
 
Tenure
Working:
Total 
working
Unemployed
Retired
Other 
inactive
Total
Full-time
Part-time
thousands
Owned outright
1,708
705
2,414
55
3,733
381
6,583
Buying with a mortgage
6,666
574
7,239
72
234
227
7,772
All owner occupiers
8,374
1,279
9,653
127
3,967
608
14,355
All social renters
916
353
1,269
234
1,149
1,107
3,759
All private renters
1,726
286
2,012
115
265
471
2,863
All tenures
11,016
1,918
12,933
477
5,381
2,185
20,977
Owned outright
26
11
37
1
57
6
100
Buying with a mortgage
86
7
93
1
3
3
100
All owner occupiers
58
9
67
1
28
4
100
All social renters
24
9
34
6
31
29
100
All private renters
60
10
70
4
9
16
100
All tenures
53
9
62
2
26
10
100

Source: ONS Labour Force Survey Overall just over a quarter of household reference persons (HRPs) were retired with the lowest percentage for households buying with a mortgage. Of the 2.2 million "other inactive" HRPs, around half (1.1 million) were renting from the social sector. In the social rented sector the percentage of HRPs that were economically inactive but not retired was higher than in other tenures. Overall around two-thirds of household reference persons in the social sector were economically inactive. Differences in economic status by tenure are further illustrated in chart 7.

Whilst table 5 and chart 7 refer to the economic status of all household reference persons in England, Chart 8 focuses solely on the economic status of *working age* household reference persons, that is males under 65 and females under 60. Ninety-six per cent of working age householders buying with a mortgage were working compared to only 49 per cent of social renters. There was a much higher proportion of 'other inactive' in the social rented sector, 41 per cent of working age households compared to 3 per cent of those buying with a mortgage, 11 per cent of outright owners and 18 per cent of private renters.

## 6. Number Of Persons In Work

The economic status of the household reference person cannot give a complete picture of the economic position of the household as other members of the household may also be in employment. In 2008, 35 per cent of all households had nobody in work - see table 6. For the social rented sector this figure was 61 per cent and for outright owners it was 57 per cent - this latter figure reflecting the fact that the majority of outright owners were retired. Households buying with a mortgage had the highest proportion of two or more people in work (62 per cent), compared to 33 per cent of private renters, and 14 per cent of social renters.

All households
Number of persons working
 
Tenure
 
None
One
Two
Three or more
 
Total
thousands
Owned outright
3,670
1,521
973
275
6,440
Buying with a mortgage
365
2,439
3,779
893
7,476
All owner occupiers
4,035
3,960
4,752
1,169
13,917
All social renters
2,233
916
409
101
3,659
All private renters
727
1,045
748
140
2,660
All tenures
 
6,996
5,921
5,909
1,410
 
20,236
percentages
Owned outright
 57
 24
 15
 4
 100
Buying with a mortgage
 5
 33
 51
 12
 100
All owner occupiers
 29
 28
 34
 8
 100
All social renters
 61
 25
 11
 3
 100
All private renters
 27
 39
 28
 5
 100
All tenures
 
 35
 29
 29
 7
 
 100

Source: ONS Labour Force Survey

## 7. Gross Income

There is a clear relationship between income and tenure - see table 7 and chart 9. Over half (53 per cent) of social renters had a joint income of less than £10,000 per annum, compared to 11 per cent of owners and 25 per cent of private renters. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of those buying with a mortgage had a joint income of £30,000 or more but only six per cent of social renters had incomes of this level. Seventy-three per cent of outright owners had joint incomes of less than £30,000 per annum, reflecting the high proportion of retired people within this category.

 
Gross annual income of household reference person (& partner)
 
Tenure
Under 
£5K
£5K 
but 
under 
£10K
£10K 
but 
under 
£15K
£15K 
but 
under 
£20K
£20K 
but 
under 
£30K
£30K 
but 
under 
£40K
£40K 
but 
under 
£50K
£50K or 
over
Total
thousands
Owned outright
143
882
917
733
978
529
322
520
5,024
Buying with a mortgage
71
201
399
480
1,302
1,307
964
2,032
6,756
All owner occupiers
214
1,083
1,316
1,213
2,279
1,836
1,287
2,552
11,779
All social renters
440
1,414
690
332
367
136
57
31
3,466
All private renters
194
365
347
238
432
303
127
211
2,217
All tenures
848
2,862
2,353
1,783
3,078
2,275
1,471
2,794
17,463
percentages
Owned outright
 3
 18
 18
 15
 19
 11
 6
 10
 100
Buying with a mortgage
 1
 3
 6
 7
 19
 19
 14
 30
 100
All owner occupiers
 2
 9
 11
 10
 19
 16
 11
 22
 100
All social renters
 13
 41
 20
 10
 11
 4
 2
 1
 100
All private renters
 9
 16
 16
 11
 19
 14
 6
 10
 100
All tenures
 5
 16
 13
 10
 18
 13
 8
 16
 100

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing Note: figures are based only on those households for whom income is known

## 8. Mortgages

Table 8 shows the type of mortgage held by households in 2007-08 by the year in which they were taken out. About three-quarters of mortgages taken out since 2001 were repayment mortgages; only six per cent were endowment mortgages. The increase in the proportion of new mortgages that were both interest only and repayment may reflect a tendency to convert part of the outstanding loan to a repayment loan in cases where the endowment policy was no longer expected to cover the outstanding loan on maturity.

Owners buying with a mortgage
Type of mortgage
Pension or 
PEP/ISA 
mortgage
Interest only, 
more than 
one linked 
investment
Interest only, 
no linked 
investment
Repayment 
mortgage 
(interest plus 
principal)
Interest only 
component 
plus a 
repayment 
component
Other
Total2
Endowment 
mortgage


Year mortgage taken out
thousands
1984 or earlier
104
0
6
8
92
11
3
224
1985-1989
192
3
1
12
156
34
3
401
1990-1994
145
5
10
5
235
23
7
431
1995-1999
144
8
20
31
596
66
11
876
2000
29
0
2
9
200
16
5
261
2001
29
0
8
12
185
21
2
258
2002
34
3
6
21
345
28
6
443
2003
31
1
9
44
348
40
5
478
2004
47
5
23
40
487
31
9
641
2005
58
5
34
79
733
47
11
968
2006
61
4
71
154
994
73
21
1,378
2007 or 2008
66
9
46
158
916
62
19
1,277
Total2
941
43
236
573
5,287
453
102
7,636
percentages
1984 or earlier
46
0
3
4
41
5
1
100
1985-1989
48
1
0
3
39
8
1
100
1990-1994
34
1
2
1
55
5
2
100
1995-1999
16
1
2
4
68
8
1
100
2000
11
0
1
3
77
6
2
100
2001
11
0
3
5
72
8
1
100
2002
8
1
1
5
78
6
1
100
2003
7
0
2
9
73
8
1
100
2004
7
1
4
6
76
5
1
100
2005
6
1
4
8
76
5
1
100
2006
4
0
5
11
72
5
2
100
2007 or 2008
5
1
4
12
72
5
2
100
Total
12
1
3
8
69
6
1
100
Percentage


since 2001
 6
 1
 4
 10
 74
 5
 1
 100

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing
1	 Includes any mortgages started in the first quarter of 2008 2	 Excludes unknowns Around 573,000 households in 2007-08 held interest-only mortgages with no linked investment. Such mortgages have become more common in recent years as lenders no longer insisted that an investment vehicle be set up as a pre-condition to mortgage approval. Chart 10 shows the proportion of certain types of households buying with a mortgage who were experiencing difficulties or in arrears during the two year period covering 2006-07 and 2007-08. A two-year period is used due to the small numbers of such households in the survey samples. For England as a whole, 13 per cent of households buying with a mortgage reported either some difficulty in paying the mortgage or that they were in arrears. Over 30 per cent of unemployed households, those with at least one sick or disabled member, and those who had previously been repossessed reported some difficulties or being in arrears. Almost a quarter of lone parents (24 per cent) and ethnic minority households (23 per cent) were experiencing difficulties or arrears.

## 9. Social Rents

In 2007-08 the mean rent in the social sector was £72 per week. Mean rents for Council tenants were lower than those for Housing Association tenants, £68 per week compared to £77 per week, see table 9. For those tenants receiving Housing Benefit the mean rent before Housing Benefit was £74 per week and on average they paid £11 per week after Housing Benefit. For tenancies of Housing Associations the corresponding amounts were £78 before Housing Benefit and £12 after Housing Benefit.

Mean weekly rent (£)
|                                                       | Council   | Housing Association   |
|-------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------------------|
| All social                                            |           |                       |
| 1993/94                                               | 34        | 41                    |
| 2002/03                                               | 53        | 65                    |
| 2003/04                                               | 54        | 68                    |
| 2004/05                                               | 59        | 68                    |
| 2005/06                                               | 61        | 71                    |
| 2006/07                                               | 65        | 72                    |
| 2007/08                                               | 68        | 77                    |
| For social sector tenancies receiving Housing Benefit |           |                       |
|                                                       |           |                       |
| 2007/08 Rent before deduction of Housing Benefit      | 71        | 78                    |
| 2007/08 Rent after deduction of Housing Benefit       | 10        | 12                    |

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing

## 10. Private Rents

Table 10, which deals exclusively with private renters, is presented in terms of tenancies rather than households. These terms are defined in the Definitions section at the end of this report, as are the tenancy types. Since the 1988 Housing Act introduced the concepts of Assured and Assured Shorthold tenancies 
(see Definitions) and ended the creation of new Regulated tenancies, Assured Shorthold has become the most common form of tenancy. In 2007-08, 67 per cent of all private tenancies were Assured Shorthold and Regulated tenancies accounted for only four per cent of all tenancies. Eleven per cent of tenancies were not accessible to the public, for example accommodation tied to employment or rented only to family or friends.

Tenancy type
Year
Assured
Assured 
shorthold
All 
assured
All 
regulated
Not 
accessible 
to public
Resident 
landlord1
Other
Total1
thousands
1997/98
321
1,165
1,486
205
349
178
38
2,255
1998/99
254
1,223
1,477
189
386
169
25
2,246
1999/00
275
1,241
1,517
154
444
151
40
2,305
2000/01
213
1,221
1,434
122
382
192
56
2,186
2001/02
272
1,233
1,505
117
308
162
38
2,129
2002/03
384
1,129
1,514
127
355
176
51
2,221
2003/04
221
1,481
1,702
140
349
164
13
2,368
2004/05
254
1,584
1,838
126
359
186
17
2,526
2005/06
306
1,730
2,036
115
361
135
33
2,681
2006/07
310
1,781
2,091
139
389
144
33
2,796
2007/08
340
1,864
2,204
120
304
127
14
2,770
percentages
1997/98
14
52
66
9
15
8
2
100
1998/99
11
54
66
8
17
8
1
100
1999/00
12
54
66
7
19
7
2
100
2000/01
10
56
66
6
17
9
3
100
2001/02
13
58
71
5
14
8
2
100
2002/03
17
51
68
6
16
8
2
100
2003/04
9
63
72
6
15
7
1
100
2004/05
10
63
73
5
14
7
1
100
2005/06
11
65
76
4
13
5
1
100
2006/07
11
64
75
5
14
5
1
100
2007/08
12
67
80
4
11
5
1
100

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing
1	 Figures include lodgers within owner occupier and social renting households. 

The average 'free market' rent (ie rent for property accessible to the public without special conditions) in 2007-08 was £134 per week (this is the average for 'all assured' tenancies). The mean for Assured Shorthold tenancies was £136 a week and for other assured tenancies £126 a week. For the small number of remaining Regulated tenancies the average rent was £85 per week (table 11). For those tenancies that received Housing Benefit the mean weekly rent before Housing Benefit  
in 2007-08 was £113. The mean amount that these tenants paid after Housing Benefit was £31 per week.

 
Tenancy type
 
Year
Assured
Assured 
shorthold
All 
assured
All 
regulated
Not 
accessible 
to public
Resident 
landlord1
Other
Total1

**Mean rents**2 (£ a week)
1997/98
78
89
87
47
63
50
* 
79
1999/00
87
94
93
52
79
61
* 
86
2000/01
 88
 103
 101
 54
 83
 54
* 
 92
2001/02
98
114
111
57
77
60
* 
102
2002/03
117
122
121
61
78
72
* 
110
2003/04
96
121
118
57
83
70
* 
110
2004/05
108
122
121
71
84
79
* 
113
2005/06
109
129
126
68
80
81
* 
119
2006/07
115
133
130
72
117
63
* 
123
2007/08
126
136
134
85
107
75
* 
129

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing
1	 Figures include lodgers within owner occupier and social renting households. 2	 Rent free tenancies are excluded from the calculations of mean rents

## 11. Overcrowding

Levels of overcrowding are measured using the 'bedroom standard' (see definition in Notes at the end of this bulletin). Essentially this is the difference between the number of bedrooms needed to avoid undesirable sharing (given the number of household members and their relationships to each other) and the number of bedrooms actually available to the household. Fewer than three per cent of households are overcrowded, so the sample of overcrowded households interviewed in a single year's survey is too small to produce reliable annual estimates. Data from the three most recent survey years (2005-06 to 2007-08) have therefore been combined for this report in order to produce more robust estimates. Table 12 shows estimates of the numbers of households by tenure that were: overcrowded; equal to standard (they have exactly the number of bedrooms needed under the bedroom standard); one above standard (they have one spare bedroom); and under-occupied (with two or more spare bedrooms). The average number of overcrowded households in England over the three years to 2007-08 was approximately 565,000 - about 2.7 per cent of all households. By tenure, overcrowding continued to be highest in the social rented sector, 5.9 per cent across the whole of England. Overcrowding was lower in the private rented sector– 4.9 per cent, but lowest of all in the owner occupied sector - with only 1.4 per cent of owner occupied households experiencing overcrowding.

Tenure
Overcrowded
Equal to standard
1 above standard
Under-occupied
Total


thousands
Owned outright
58
555
2,106
3,720
6,439
Buying with mortgage1 
147
1,553
3,278
3,056
8,035
All owners occupiers
206
2,108
5,384
6,776
14,474
Social renters
234
2,093
1,159
456
3,942
Private renters
126
1,108
879
437
2,550
All tenures
565
5,310
7,422
7,669
20,966


percentages
Owned outright
0.9
8.6
32.7
57.8
100
Buying with mortgage1 
1.8
19.3
40.8
38.0
100
All owners occupiers
1.4
14.6
37.2
46.8
100
Social renters
5.9
53.1
29.4
11.6
100
Private renters
4.9
43.5
34.5
17.1
100
All tenures
2.7
25.3
35.4
36.6
100

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing
1	 includes shared owners Under-occupation was highest in the owner occupied sector, 46.8 per cent, and particularly amongst those who owned outright, 57.8 per cent. This reflects the high proportion of retired households (with fewer members) that are outright owners. By comparison the rates of underoccupation in the rented sectors were much lower: 11.6 per cent for social renters and 17.1 per cent for private renters. Chart 12 shows the trend in overcrowding rates by tenure (three year moving average) from  
1995-96 to 2007-08. This shows that the overall overcrowding rate across all tenures has changed little over time. For owner occupiers the rate of overcrowding has remained stable at 1.4 per cent since 2001-02. Social renters have seen small increases in the overcrowding rate from 2003-04 to 
2006-07 but the rate remained static in 2007-08. A similar picture was also seen in the private rented sector.

overcrowding by region and by tenure. London had the highest overcrowding rate of all the regions, both overall (6.8 per cent) and by tenure. There were around 200,000 overcrowded households in London, three-quarters of whom were renters. The social rented sector in London saw the highest rate of overcrowding, 12.7 per cent, and 9.8 per cent of private renters and  
3.0 per cent of owner occupiers were overcrowded (as defined by the bedroom standard).

 
Number of overcrowded households
 
Rate of overcrowding
 
tenure
 
 
tenure
 
Government Office Region
owner
occupiers
social
renters
private
renters
all
tenures
 
 
owner
occupiers
social
renters
private
renters
all
tenures
'000 households
 
percent
North East
5
9
2
16
 
0.6
3.6
1.7
1.4
North West
33
20
13
66
 
1.6
3.6
4.7
2.3
Yorkshire & the Humber
22
14
8
44
 
1.5
3.4
3.6
2.1
North
60
44
23
126
 
1.4
3.5
3.8
2.1
East Midlands
8
11
7
26
 
0.6
3.9
3.9
1.4
West Midlands
28
22
9
58
 
1.8
4.9
3.9
2.7
Midlands
36
33
15
84
 
1.2
4.5
3.9
2.1
East
17
19
10
47
 
1.1
5.0
3.9
2.0
London
51
102
55
207
 
3.0
12.7
9.8
6.8
South-East
28
25
14
67
 
1.1
5.2
3.2
2.0
South West
14
11
9
34
 
0.9
3.6
3.1
1.6
South
110
157
88
355
 
1.5
8.0
5.6
3.3
England
206
234
126
565
 
1.4
5.9
4.9
2.7

Source: Communities & Local Government  Survey of English Housing

## 12. Length Of Residence

In 2007-08, over two million households (11 per cent) had been resident at their current address for less than one year. Forty per cent of all private renters had moved during the previous year, compared to only nine per cent of social renters and seven per cent of owner-occupiers. In other words, private renters are much more mobile than social renters or owner-occupiers. The least mobile group are outright owners, only three per cent of whom moved in the previous year.

Over 45 per cent of all households had lived in the same property for 10 years or more, with over a quarter having lived in the same property for 20 years or more. In the case of outright owners over half had lived in the same property for 20 years or more. The median length of residence for outright owners was 23.6 years, compared to just 7.1 years for owner occupiers who were buying with a mortgage. Social tenants had a median length of residence of 7.8 years whereas private tenants had been in residence for a median of just 1.7 years.  
The overall median length of residence across all tenures was 8.9 years.

All household reference persons
Length of residence of household reference person
 
Tenure
< 1 year
1 year 
to < 3 
years
3 years 
to < 5 
years
5 years 
to < 10 
years
10 years 
to < 20 
years
20 years 
to < 40 
years
40 years
or more
Total
Median 
length of 
residence
thousands
Owned outright
217
356
281
742
1,218
2,607
1,151
6,572
 
Buying with a mortgage
769
1,311
1,036
1,929
1,817
968
56
7,886
 
All owner occupied
985
1,667
1,317
2,671
3,035
3,575
1,207
14,458
 
All social rented 
374
639
506
827
832
585
197
3,961
 
All private rented
1,014
780
263
239
126
100
45
2,567
 
All tenures
2,374
3,087
2,086
3,738
3,994
4,260
1,449
20,987
 
percentages
years
Owned outright
3
5
4
11
19
40
18
100
23.6
Buying with a mortgage
10
17
13
24
23
12
1
100
7.1
All owner occupied
7
12
9
18
21
25
8
100
11.9
All social rented 
9
16
13
21
21
15
5
100
7.8
All private rented
40
30
10
9
5
4
2
100
1.7
All tenures
11
15
10
18
19
20
7
100
8.9

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing

## 13. Recent Movers

The most common types of move were from one owned property to another (603,000) or from one privately rented property to another (621,000) - see table 15. There was also a fair degree of movement within the social rented sector. Overall, movement within each of the sectors was more common than movement between them.

In 2007-08, 47 per cent of all newly-formed households moved into the private rented sector, 34 per cent moved directly into owner occupation and 20 per cent moved into the social rented sector.

Household reference persons resident less than a year
Previous tenure - continuing households
Owner Occupied
Current tenure
New household 
reference 
persons
Total
All 
social 
renters
All 
private 
renters
Owned 
outright
Buying 
with a 
mortgage
All 
owner 
occupiers
thousands
Owned outright
15
131
44
175
4
22
217
Buying with a mortgage
116
43
385
428
18
206
767
All owner occupied
131
174
429
603
22
228
984
All social rented 
76
9
13
23
196
77
371
All private rented
183
24
134
159
37
621
1,000
All tenures
390
208
576
784
254
927
2,355
Owned outright
7
60
20
81
2
10
100
Buying with a mortgage
15
6
50
56
2
27
100
All owner occupied
13
18
44
61
2
23
100
All social rented 
20
3
4
6
53
21
100
All private rented
18
2
13
16
4
62
100
All tenures
17
9
24
33
11
39
100

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing 

## 14. Buying Aspirations

In 2007-08 only 24 per cent of social renters said that they expected to become homeowners eventually - compared to 56 per cent of private renters. This compares to 31 per cent of social renters and 60 per cent of private renters in 2002-03 who expected to buy eventually - see chart 13 (this question was not asked between 2002-03 and 2006-07).

Social 
renters
Private 
 
renters
Social 
renters
Private 
 
renters
thousands
percentages
Expect to buy?
Yes
931
1,321
24
56
No
2,866
929
75
40
Owns already
5
89
0
4
Total
3,802
2,339
100
100
How long before you expect to buy?1
Less than a year
34
162
4
13
1 year but less than 2 years
72
201
8
16
2 years but less than 5 years
233
415
26
32
5 years or more
565
513
62
40
Total
904
1,291
100
100
Expect to buy current home?
Yes
399
179
44
14
No
504
1,119
56
86
Total
903
1,298
100
100

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing
1 Excluding don't knows.

Twenty-eight per cent of private renters and 12 per cent of social renters expecting to buy eventually were expecting to do so within the next two years. These proportions were lower than those found in 2006-07 (34 and 14 per cent respectively) perhaps indicating that renters were expecting to rent for longer before being in a position to buy. Sixty-two per cent of social renters expected to buy in five years or more time. Forty-four per cent of social renters who expected to become homeowners said they expected to buy the home they were currently renting. Only 14 per cent of the private renters expected to buy their current accommodation.

Renters who said they did not expect to ever buy their own home were asked what the main reason was for this. In general there was little difference between the two types of renters. The most common reason given, by 62 per cent of both social and private renters, was that they felt they would be unlikely ever to be able to afford it. Nine per cent of both tenures said the main reason for not expecting to buy was that they did not want to be in debt. Only five per cent of social renters and four per cent of private renters gave lack of a secure enough job as the main reason for not expecting to buy.

Social 
renters
Private 
 
renters
Social 
renters
Private 
 
renters
thousands
percentages
It is unlikely I will ever be able to afford it
715
216
62
62
I do not have a secure enough job
57
15
5
4
I would not want to be in debt
99
30
9
9
Repairs and maintenance would be too costly
30
6
3
2
I wouldn't want that sort of commitment
75
22
7
6
I prefer the flexibility of renting
12
15
1
4
I like it where I am
122
28
11
8
Other
43
17
4
5
Total
1,153
350
100
100

Source: Communities and Local Government, Survey of English Housing

## 15. Attitudes To Home And Local Area

The majority of households in England in 2007-08, 62 per cent, were *very satisfied* with their accommodation and a further 30 per cent were *fairly satisfied*. Only five per cent expressed any dissatisfaction with their current accommodation. Owner occupiers were more likely to be very satisfied, 68 per cent, compared to 49 per cent of social renters and 47 per cent of private renters. 

Dissatisfaction with their accommodation was higher among social renters than private renters, 13 per cent compared to nine per cent.

tenure
Owner
Occupiers
Social 
renters
Private 
renters
All 
households
thousands
Very satisfied
9,682
1,888
1,130
12,700
Fairly satisfied
3,901
1,302
918
6,121
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
275
177
153
604
Slightly dissatisfied
256
287
139
682
Very dissatisfied
64
236
86
386
Total
14,178
3,890
2,425
20,493
percentages
Very satisfied
68
49
47
62
Fairly satisfied
28
33
38
30
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
2
5
6
3
Slightly dissatisfied
2
7
6
3
Very dissatisfied
0
6
4
2
Total
100
100
100
100

Respondents were also presented with a series of issues and asked whether they thought each was a 'serious problem in this area', *'a problem in this area but not serious'*, or whether it was 
'*not a problem in this area*'. There have been several changes over the time that the survey has operated in the range of issues included. Chart 14 shows the trend for six issues which have been included since 2002-03.

The proportions reporting each problem have remained fairly stable over recent years. Traffic was the issue which was most commonly reported as a problem (52 per cent) and racial harassment the least commonly reported (seven per cent) in 2007-08. Litter and rubbish continued to be a problem for 43 per cent of households.

## Notes About The Survey

The SEH is designed to yield a nationally representative sample of households in England, and in the period from mid-April 2007 to mid-April 2008 interviews were achieved in 15,610 households. The sample was selected in two stages: first a sample of postcode sectors was selected from the Postcode Address File (PAF), then a sample of addresses was selected within each of these sectors.

Main uses: The survey is a flexible means of meeting the housing information needs of policy makers, housing professionals and researchers, and the general public. In particular it provides information on: tenure; household composition and demographics; mortgages; rents; satisfaction with neighbourhood and accommodation; and overcrowding.

Data quality: Fieldwork is contracted out to the National Centre for Social Research which has stringent data quality checks. Interviews are conducted using laptops, enabling consistency checks to be applied at the point of collection. There are set procedures and specifications for the creation and checking of derived variables and the production of data tables. Checks are also undertaken by the SEH team on the data, tables and underlying syntax supplied by the contractors. Outputs are also compared with those from previous years, in order to highlight any anomalies. Full technical details are provided as appendices to the annual report, *Housing in England*.

## Definitions 1. Bedroom Standard

'Bedroom standard' is used as an indicator of occupation density. A standard number of bedrooms is calculated for each household in accordance with its age/sex/marital status composition and the relationship of the members to one another. A separate bedroom is allowed for each married or cohabiting couple, any other person aged 21 or over, each pair of adolescents aged 10-20 of the same sex, and each pair of children under 10. Any unpaired person aged 10-20 is notionally paired, if possible, with a child under 10 of the same sex, or, if that is not possible, he or she is counted as requiring a separate bedroom, as is any unpaired child under 10. This notional standard number of bedrooms is then compared with the actual number of bedrooms (including bed-sitters) available for the sole use of the household, and differences are tabulated. Bedrooms converted to other uses are not counted as available unless they have been denoted as bedrooms by the informants; bedrooms not actually in use are counted unless uninhabitable.

## 2. Household

A household is defined as one person or a group of people who have the accommodation as their only or main residence and (for a group) either share at least one meal a day or share the living accommodation, that is, a living room or sitting room.

## 3. Household Reference Person (Hrp)

From April 2001 the SEH in common with other Government surveys replaced the traditional concept of the "head of the household" by "household reference person". The household reference person is defined as a "householder" (that is a person in whose name the accommodation is owned or rented). For households with joint householders, it is the person with the highest income; if two or more householders have exactly the same income, the older is selected. Thus the household reference person definition, unlike the old head of household definition, no longer gives automatic priority to male partners.

## 4. Household Membership

People are regarded as living at the address if they (or the informant) consider the address to be their only or main residence. There are, however, certain rules which take priority over this criterion.

(a)	 Children aged 16 or over who live away from home for the purposes of work or study and 
come home only for the holidays are not included at the parental address under any circumstances.
(b)	 Children of any age away from home in a temporary job and children under 16 at boarding 
school are always included in the parental household.
(c)	 People who have been away from the address continuously for six months or longer are excluded. (d)	 People who have been living continuously at the address for six months or longer are included 
even if they have their main residence elsewhere.
(e)	 Addresses used only as second homes are never counted as main residences.

## 5. Dependent Children

Dependent children are persons aged under 16, or single persons aged 16 to 18 and in full-time education.

## 6. Economic Activity 6.1 Working

This category covers employees and self-employed persons who, in the previous week, did paid work (including part-time work), were away from a job/business (on annual leave or sick leave) or were doing unpaid work for their own or family business. Persons on a government-supported training scheme are classified as working full-time.

## 6.2 Unemployed

The ILO definition of unemployed covers people without a job who were available to start work in the two weeks after interview and had either looked for work in the four weeks before the interview or were waiting to start a new job they had already obtained.

## 6.3 Economically Active

This includes persons who were working or unemployed (ILO defined, as above) in the week before interview.

## 6.4 Economically Inactive

All others who were not working; they include people who were permanently sick or disabled, retired, full-time students or looking after the family or home.

## 6.5 Full-Time Students

Full-time students are classified according to their reports of what they were doing in the reference week (for example, if it was during the vacation and they had a full-time job, they would be classified as working full-time).

## 7. Ethnicity

From 2001-02, the SEH has collected information on the ethnic group of adult household members according to the new harmonised definition used in the 2001 Census. The new definition increased the number of categories from 9 (in the 1991 Census definition) to 16. For tables presenting trends the new categories have been combined to give groupings that are broadly comparable with the categories used in 2000/01 and earlier years. The sample sizes for many ethnic groups are quite small, so the results shown should be regarded as approximate.

## 8. Household Type

The main classification of household type uses the following categories:

- Married/cohabiting couple with no children or with non-dependent child(ren) only
- Married/cohabiting couple with dependent child(ren)
- Lone parent family (one parent with dependent child(ren)
- Other multi-person household (includes flat sharers, lone parents with non-dependent children 
only and households containing more than one couple or lone parent family) - previously referred to as 'large adult household'
- One male
- One female
The married/cohabiting couple and lone parent household types (the first three categories above) may include one-person family units in addition to the couple/lone parent family.

## 9. Tenure 9.1 Owner Occupiers

Owner occupied accommodation, is accommodation which is either owned outright, being bought with a mortgage or being bought as part of a shared ownership scheme.

## 9.2 Social Renters

This category includes households renting from:

- the Council/Local Authority including Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) and 
Housing Action Trusts;
- Housing Associations (mostly Registered Social Landlords - RSLs), Local Housing Companies, 
co-operatives and charitable trusts. Note that the term 'RSLs' was used in place of 'housing associations' from 1997-08; but the more all-encompassing description of 'housing associations' is now seen as more appropriate.
This report does not give separate estimates for council tenants and housing association tenants due to the ongoing problem that some housing association tenants who were previously council tenants continue to incorrectly report that they are council tenants. This is typically in areas where ownership has transferred from the council to a housing association. The overall social renting estimates are robust but separate estimates could be misleading. The main Housing in England 
2007-08 report (to be published in 2009) will give separate figures for those topics where there is a significant difference between the characteristics of the two types of social tenant.

## 9.3 Private Renters

This sector covers all other tenants including all whose accommodation is tied to their job. It also includes people living rent-free (for example, people living in a flat belonging to a relative) and squatters.

## 10. Tenancies

The main types are listed below

## 10.1 Assured And Assured Shorthold Tenancies

Under the 1988 Housing Act, all tenancies starting after the 14th January 1989 are Assured (including Assured Shorthold) unless they fall into one of the excluded categories, for example business lettings or lettings by resident landlords. Before March 1997, tenants had to be given a notice in writing to say that a tenancy was an Assured Shorthold. From March 1997, the rules changed and all new tenancies were Assured Shortholds unless the agreement specifically stated that they were not. Assured Shorthold lettings are for a fixed period of six months or more. The landlord can regain possession of the property six months after the start of the tenancy provided that two months notice is given. In the case of an Assured letting the tenant has the right to remain in the property unless the landlord can prove grounds for repossession. The landlord does not have an automatic right to repossess the property when the tenancy comes to an end.

## 10.2 Regulated Tenancies

In general these are tenancies that began before January 1989, since before that date most private tenancies were regulated lettings, unless they fell into one of the excluded categories. A few lettings after that date will also be regulated tenancies. With a regulated letting either the landlord or the tenant can apply to the Rent Officer for a registration of a fair rent. The registered rent then becomes the maximum that the landlord can legally charge. The landlord cannot evict the tenant without a possession order from the courts and this can only be granted in certain circumstances.

## 10.3 Tenancies Not Accessible To The Public

Tenancies not accessible to the public are mostly lettings by employers to their employees, and rent-free lettings to friends or relatives of the landlord in private houses or flats. Accommodation in halls of residence and student accommodation on campus is excluded from the survey (on the grounds that they are classed as communal establishments) but other lettings in houses or flats off campus by universities and colleges to their students are included and come into this category. Being inaccessible to the public is not a legal category as such but most of the groups listed may be outside the Rent Act or Housing Act with regards to security of tenure.

## 10.4 Resident Landlord Lettings

Resident landlord lettings are tenancies where the landlord lives in the same building. This includes converted houses where they live in different parts of the same property (however long ago it was converted). In a purpose built block the landlord and tenant must live in the same flat for the letting to qualify as a resident landlord letting. Thus some tenants with a resident landlord have a self-contained flat within the landlord's house. Others are lodgers renting just one or two rooms and sharing amenities such as the bathroom or kitchen with the landlord.

## 11. Non Self-Contained Accommodation

Households are classified as living in non self-contained accommodation if they share a kitchen, bathroom or toilet with another household, or if they share a hall or staircase which is needed in order to get from one part of the accommodation to another. Households which share a common entrance hall, but otherwise have all their accommodation behind their own front door are counted as living in self-contained accommodation.

## Reporting On The 2007-08 Survey

A full report on the main results of the 2007-08 survey will be published in 2009.

## Further Information And Contact Details

Further details, copies of reports, and a wide range of further tables from the Survey of English Housing can be found at: www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingsurveys/ Information on the English House Condition Survey and the English Housing Survey can also be accessed via this link. If you have any queries about this report or would like any further information please contact us at seh@communities.gsi.gov.uk Information about housing in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can be found at: http://wales.gov.uk/topics/statistics/theme/housing/survey/?lang=en http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration http://www.nihe.gov.uk/index/sp_home/research-2.htm ISBN 978-1-4098-1084-1