People without decent homes
Published
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1. Main facts and figures
- in the 2 years to March 2018, 18% of households in England lived in a ‘non-decent home’, which is a home that lacks modern facilities, is in a state of disrepair or has ineffective insulation or heating
- 18% of White British households lived in a non-decent home
- Chinese households (4%) were less likely to live in a non-decent home than White British households (18%)
- although it appears that Chinese households were less likely than all other ethnic groups to live in a non-decent home, these comparisons may not be reliable because of the small number of Chinese households interviewed
Things you need to know
Compared with White British households, ethnic minority households tend to:
- be younger
- have lived in England for a shorter time
- be located in urban areas
- live in larger households
- live in rented accommodation
The data for this analysis comes from the English Housing Survey (EHS). The EHS surveys a random sample of people to make generalisations about the whole population.
The commentary for this data includes only reliable findings. Findings are reliable when we can be confident they reflect the total population. This means we would get similar findings 19 times out of 20 if we carried out the same survey on different random people.
Every year, 2 years’ worth of data is combined and an average is worked out. For example, the data for the most recent period (April 2016 to March 2018) is an average of the data for the years 2016/17 and 2017/18. This makes the data more reliable.
You should avoid comparing these findings with those from last year. This is because last year’s findings were based on data from 2015/16 and 2016/17, so the source for last year’s and this year’s findings overlap.
Information published in the headline report and other annual reports is based on a single year rather than 2 years' data. As a result, the figures shown here may not match those in the English Housing Survey reports.
The number of Gypsy or Irish Traveller households surveyed was very small. This page doesn't include estimates for this group, partly to protect respondents’ confidentiality. The number is also too small to make reliable generalisations.
What the data measures
This data measures the percentage of households in England who lived in a ‘non-decent’ home, broken down by ethnicity.
A ‘non-decent home’ is where a home was not in a reasonable state of repair, didn’t have reasonably modern facilities and services, or had ineffective insulation or heating.
The information relates to households. A household is one person or a group of people (not necessarily related) who have the accommodation as their only or main home. If it is a group, they must share cooking facilities and also share a living room, sitting room or dining area.
Some households contain people from different ethnic backgrounds. In this data, the household's ethnicity is that of the ‘household reference person’ (the person in whose name the home is owned or rented).
Nearly all the household reference persons – more than 99.8% interviewed – gave information on their ethnicity.
The ethnic categories used in this data
This data uses the 18 ethnic groups used in the 2011 Census.
2. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % | Number of non-decent homes ('000s) | All households ('000s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| White British | 18 | 3,530 | 19,092 |
| White Irish | 15 | 32 | 211 |
| White Gypsy or Irish Traveller | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| White Other | 20 | 237 | 1,208 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 12 | 11 | 91 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 27 | 15 | 57 |
| Mixed White and Asian | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Mixed Other | 20 | 24 | 121 |
| Indian | 15 | 72 | 482 |
| Pakistani | 21 | 69 | 319 |
| Bangladeshi | 25 | 37 | 146 |
| Chinese | 4 | 4 | 94 |
| Asian Other | 20 | 41 | 204 |
| Black African | 20 | 85 | 432 |
| Black Caribbean | 17 | 50 | 289 |
| Black Other | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable | withheld because a small sample size makes it unreliable |
| Arab | 12 | 11 | 95 |
| Other | 21 | 57 | 273 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of People without decent homes By ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- in the 2 years ending in March 2018, 18% of White British households lived in a non-decent home, which is a home that lacks modern facilities, is in a state of disrepair or had ineffective insulation or heating
- Chinese households (4%) were less likely to live in a non-decent home than White British households (18%)
- although it appears that Chinese households were less likely than all other ethnic groups to live in a non-decent home, these comparisons may not be reliable because of the small number of Chinese households interviewed
3. Methodology
Around 13,300 households a year take part in face-to-face interviews for the English Housing Survey.
The homes of around 6,000 of those households are also surveyed by a qualified surveyor. These are chosen at random. In addition, another 200 empty properties are surveyed to get a complete picture of homes in England.
Weighting:
Weighting is applied to the sample to produce estimates for the 23 million households in England as a whole.
Weighting adjusts the results of a survey to make them representative of the population and make them more reliable.
For example, a survey of 25 women and 75 men will not accurately reflect the views of the general population, which is around 50% male and 50% female.
Suppression rules and disclosure control
These figures don't include estimates based on fewer than 30 households. This is because it's hard to make reliable generalisations based on a small number of respondents.
Where data is analysed by ethnicity and another factor (like socio-economic group), 2 ethnic groups are shown. This avoids the potential for individuals to be identified.
See the guidance on English Housing Survey datasets for information on accessing other, more detailed, data.
Rounding
Percentages shown in the charts and tables are rounded to the nearest whole number. Download the data to get more detailed estimates.
Figures for the numerator and denominator are weighted and rounded to the nearest whole number in the download files. Therefore, calculations of the percentages using these values may differ to the percentage figures shown on this page, which have been calculated using unrounded figures.
Related publications
English Housing Survey information and publications.
Quality and methodology information
4. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The English Housing Survey is a continuous national survey commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). It collects information about people’s housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England.
5. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, time, time-type, ethnicity, ethnicity type, geography, numerator, value, denominator, sample size