Income spent on rent for new lettings of social housing
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Last updated 2 March 2018 - see all updates
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- 1. Navigate to Main facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toIncome spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity section
- 3. Navigate toIncome spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity and area section
- 4. Navigate to Methodology section
- 5. Navigate to Data sources section
- 6. Navigate to Download the data section
1. Main facts and figures
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in 2015/16, there were 355,898 new social housing lettings
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the percentage of income (and benefits) spent on rent for new social housing lettings is similar across all ethnic groups, ranging from 34% (Pakistani and White Other households) to 43% (Black Caribbean households).
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Black Caribbean households spent the largest percentage of their income on rent compared to all other ethnic groups
Things you need to know
These figures are based on the Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales in Social Housing (CORE). CORE is a complete census of new social housing lettings.
There may be some inaccuracy in the administrative data used to compile these statistics due to missing responses or reporting errors when the data was entered.
Tenants can refuse to give information on their ethnicity. The data used here excludes any records where ethnicity was refused or where information on ethnicity is missing. This means that figures for new lettings may be different from other published figures on social housing.
Social housing is provided by local authorities and private registered providers (mainly housing associations).
Household income used in these figures does not take account of the size or membership of households, which means that we can’t make statements about whether some ethnic groups are poorer compared to others.
For example, 2 households may have the same number of people, but in one household there are several dependent children, while in the other, everyone is employed. In this data, the amount of rent as a percentage of household income has not been adjusted to reflect these differences.
What the data measures
This data measures the amount of rent paid for social housing lettings as a percentage of income, including benefits. This is also broken down by ethnicity.
Social housing is let to tenants by local authorities or private registered providers (mainly housing associations).
The figures come from the Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales in Social Housing (CORE) in 2015/16, which records:
- social housing lettings
- affordable housing lettings
- sales by private registered providers
The CORE data used here relates to new, permanent general lettings of social housing. It doesn’t include other types of letting, except temporary lettings where a household moves into supported housing.
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 residence. If it is a group, they must share cooking facilities and also share a living room, sitting room or dining area.
The ethnic categories used in this data
This data uses the standardised ethnic groups based on the 2011 census.
White:
- English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British
- Irish
- Gypsy, Traveller or Irish Traveller
- Any other White background
Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:
- White and Black Caribbean
- White and Black African
- White and Asian
- Any other Mixed/Multiple ethnic background
Asian/Asian British:
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Bangladeshi
- Chinese
- Any other Asian background
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:
- African
- Caribbean
- Any other Black/African/Caribbean background
Other ethnic group:
- Arab
- Any other ethnic group
2. Income spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % |
|---|---|
| Asian | |
| Bangladeshi | 38 |
| Indian | 38 |
| Pakistani | 34 |
| Asian other | 39 |
| Black | |
| Black African | 38 |
| Black Caribbean | 43 |
| Black other | 40 |
| Mixed | |
| Mixed White/Asian | 40 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 39 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 40 |
| Mixed other | 38 |
| White | |
| White British | 37 |
| White Irish | 40 |
| White Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 39 |
| White other | 34 |
| Other | |
| Arab | 38 |
| Chinese | 38 |
| Any other | 38 |
Download table data for ‘Income spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Income spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Income spent on rent for new lettings of social housing Income spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
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in 2015/16, the percentage of income spent on rent for new social housing lettings was similar across all ethnic groups, ranging from 34% to 43%
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Black Caribbean households spent the highest percentage of their income on rent for new social housing lettings (43%)
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households from the Pakistani and Other White ethnic groups spent the lowest percentage of their income on rent for new social housing lettings (34%)
3. Income spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity and area
| Ethnicity | North East | North West | Yorkshire & Humber | East Midlands | West Midlands | East of England | London | South East | South West |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| Asian | |||||||||
| Bangladeshi | 31 | 31 | 30 | 35 | 32 | 36 | 42 | 37 | 38 |
| Chinese | 38 | 32 | 26 | 34 | 34 | 40 | 44 | 41 | 33 |
| Indian | 34 | 35 | 35 | 34 | 37 | 39 | 44 | 39 | 31 |
| Pakistani | 37 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 33 | 34 | 42 | 36 | 36 |
| Asian other | 42 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 38 | 37 | 44 | 40 | 37 |
| Black | |||||||||
| Black African | 38 | 35 | 33 | 33 | 36 | 37 | 43 | 39 | 37 |
| Black Caribbean | 42 | 38 | 38 | 37 | 40 | 40 | 47 | 43 | 38 |
| Black other | 38 | 36 | 36 | 35 | 37 | 39 | 44 | 41 | 33 |
| Mixed | |||||||||
| Mixed White/Asian | 46 | 39 | 39 | 33 | 39 | 38 | 47 | 37 | 36 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 36 | 36 | 34 | 38 | 37 | 40 | 45 | 40 | 37 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 32 | 37 | 38 | 37 | 38 | 42 | 47 | 42 | 41 |
| Mixed other | 36 | 33 | 34 | 36 | 34 | 36 | 46 | 37 | 36 |
| White | |||||||||
| White British | 36 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 37 | 39 | 46 | 40 | 36 |
| White Irish | 40 | 37 | 38 | 40 | 38 | 40 | 46 | 39 | 37 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | 41 | 35 | 33 | 35 | 39 | 36 | 46 | 43 | 35 |
| White other | 33 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 34 | 44 | 36 | 32 |
| Other | |||||||||
| Arab | 40 | 39 | 34 | 36 | 35 | 45 | 48 | 45 | 34 |
| Unclassified | |||||||||
| Any other | 36 | 38 | 34 | 33 | 37 | 40 | 43 | 39 | 38 |
Download table data for ‘Income spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Income spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity and area’ (CSV)
Summary of Income spent on rent for new lettings of social housing Income spent on rent for new social lettings by ethnicity and area Summary
This data shows that:
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in 2015/16, the percentage of income spent on rent for new social housing lettings was highest in London for all ethnic groups, ranging from 42% for Bangladeshi and Pakistani households to 48% for Arab households
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the percentage of income spent on rent for new social housing lettings was lowest in Yorkshire and the Humber, ranging from 26% for Chinese households to 39% for Mixed White and Asian households
4. Methodology
The three main types of housing tenure in England are:
- owner occupiers
- private renters
- social renters
This data refers to new lettings to social renters only. The data is based on the data collected from providers via the on-line COntinuous REcording of Lettings and Sales in Social Housing in England (CORE) system. CORE was first set up in 1989 and initially only required private registered providers (PRPs) to submit social housing lettings and sales information to support the government’s regulatory function. CORE’s remit expanded in 2004 to include local authority information.
Some questions on the CORE questionnaire are not compulsory. In particular, data on household characteristics (age, sex, economic status, ethnicity and nationality) may not be available to the housing officer or may be refused by the tenant.
The totals for 'new lettings' used in this data differs from other published totals for new lettings, as this data does not use imputed data for ethnicity and excludes those where ethnicity was refused. Information on lettings of social housing in England is provided by local authorities and private registered providers (previously known as housing associations). Information about the tenancy, the tenants and the property is collected by data providers each time there is a new letting of a social housing property.
Imputation:
When data is missing it can be imputed, that is replaced with an estimated value based on other available information. For this measure all data at the regional and national level have not been imputed.
Weighting:
Weighting is used to adjust the results of a survey to make them representative of the population and improve their accuracy.
For example, a survey which contains 25% females and 75% males will not accurately reflect the views of the general population which we know is around 50% male and 50% female.
Data here has been weighted at the national level, but not at the regional area level. Weights are calculated for groups of similar local authorities, where these groups are defined by the Office of National Statistics UK area classifications, and they are based on the comparison with data from another Department for Communities and Local Government source on social housing data (Local Authority Housing Statistics).
For further information on the weighting and imputation methodologies, please see the Quality Report (PDF opens in a new window or tab).
Suppression rules and disclosure control
Data has been suppressed if the number of new lettings in a category (for example ethnicity and income bracket) is either 1 or 2. This is mainly to avoid possible risk of disclosure and is consistent with CORE confidentiality and disclosure practices. CORE records information anonymously and maintains absolute confidentiality on tenants’ circumstances. Access to record-level information is only available through a licence agreement.
Further information on CORE disclosure practices can be found on the Department for Communities and Local Government’s document collection on Social housing lettings on GOV.UK.
Rounding
The data in the charts, tables and downloads have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
Related publications
Social housing lettings in England 2015 (PDF opens in a new window or tab)
The record level data which has been used to produce this analysis can be accessed via the UK Data Archive after a licence application.
Quality and methodology information
5. Data sources
Source
Social housing lettings statistics
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales in Social Housing in England (CORE) provides valuable information about new social housing lettings, sales, tenants and buyers across England.
This national information is used by government bodies and organisations to inform social housing funding, regulatory and housing policy decisions.
6. Download the data
This files contains the following: ethnicity, geography, value