Length of fixed-term tenancies in social housing
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Last updated 14 May 2019 - see all updates
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1. Main facts and figures
- in 2017/18, there were 53,827 new social housing lettings with a fixed period tenancy length where the ethnicity of the household was known
- for all ethnic groups, the most common length of new fixed-term tenancies was 3 to 5 years – overall, the percentage of fixed tenancies of 3 to 5 years has risen from 54.9% to 65.4% since 2015/16
- Bangladeshi households were most likely out of all ethnic groups to have a new fixed period tenancy of 3 to 5 years, and least likely to have one longer than 5 years – this has remained the same since 2015/16
- between 2015/16 and 2017/18, there was an increase in shorter fixed-term tenancies for most ethnic groups
- overall, 22.1% of fixed-term tenancies were for 2 years or less, 65.4% were for 3 to 5 years, 10.6% were for 6 to 9 years, and 1.9% were for 10 or more years
Things you need to know
Social housing is provided by local authorities and private registered providers (mainly housing associations).
Since 2012, social housing providers have been allowed to offer fixed-term tenancies as well as lifetime tenancies. The minimum fixed term is 5 years, or 2 years in exceptional circumstances.
There were 312,989 new social housing lettings in 2017/18, excluding those where a tenant started a new tenancy agreement but stayed in the same property.
The ethnicity of the main tenant was known for 297,565 of these new lettings (95%), and refused or missing for 15,655 lettings (5%).
The data shown here only relates to the 53,827 new, permanent lettings (18% of new social housing lettings in 2017/18) that were given for a fixed period and where the ethnicity of the main tenant was known.
It does not include lifetime tenancies, which accounted for the majority of new lettings in 2017/18. You can see which other types of letting have been excluded in paragraph 2.3 of the Social housing lettings quality report.
Because this data only includes lettings where the tenant reported their ethnicity, the figures published here may be different from other published figures on social housing.
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.
The raw data has been taken from the Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales in Social Housing (CORE) system. The statistics presented on this page have not been published separately by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
Data is presented for the year 2017/18. Data for the years 2016/17 and 2015/16 are available if you download the data.
What the data measures
This data measures the number and percentage of new lettings in social housing by length of fixed-term tenancy, for each ethnic group.
The data is for new lettings with fixed-term tenancies in 2017/18, which made up 18% of all social lettings made in that period (53,827 out of 297,565 lettings where ethnicity was known). Lifetime tenancies, which make up the remainder of new lettings, are not included in this data.
The data does not include lettings where a tenant starts a new tenancy agreement but stays in the same property (after their previous tenancy agreement ended).
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 data uses the ethnicity of the main tenant. For a single tenancy, this is the named tenant.
For a joint tenancy, the main tenant is:
- the economically active or working person
- the oldest person, if both tenants are working or both are not working
These figures are drawn from the Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales in Social Housing (CORE) system in 2017/18. CORE is a complete census of new social housing lettings, which records:
- social housing lettings
- affordable housing lettings
- sales by private registered providers
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:
- Black African
- Black Caribbean
- Any other Black background
Other ethnic group:
- Arab
- Any other ethnic group
2. By ethnicity
| 2 years or less | 3 to 5 years | 6 to 9 years | 10 or more years | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | 2 years or less % | 2 years or less Number | 3 to 5 years % | 3 to 5 years Number | 6 to 9 years % | 6 to 9 years Number | 10 or more years % | 10 or more years Number |
| All | 22.1 | 11,915 | 65.4 | 35,206 | 10.6 | 5,693 | 1.9 | 1,013 |
| Asian | 20.3 | 536 | 66.8 | 1,767 | 11.3 | 299 | 1.7 | 44 |
| Bangladeshi | 11.4 | 66 | 80.9 | 467 | 4.2 | 24 | 3.5 | 20 |
| Chinese | 18.1 | 17 | 67.0 | 63 | 11.7 | 11 | 3.2 | 3 |
| Indian | 30.3 | 118 | 57.1 | 222 | 11.3 | 44 | 1.3 | 5 |
| Pakistani | 25.4 | 170 | 62.4 | 418 | 11.8 | 79 | 0.4 | 3 |
| Asian other | 18.1 | 166 | 65.2 | 598 | 15.4 | 141 | 1.3 | 12 |
| Black | 19.3 | 812 | 69.9 | 2,941 | 9.6 | 405 | 1.1 | 48 |
| Black African | 17.6 | 415 | 71.5 | 1,683 | 10.0 | 236 | 0.9 | 21 |
| Black Caribbean | 21.2 | 300 | 70.0 | 992 | 7.5 | 106 | 1.4 | 20 |
| Black other | 22.3 | 96 | 61.7 | 266 | 14.6 | 63 | 1.4 | 6 |
| Mixed | 24.0 | 500 | 65.5 | 1,363 | 8.6 | 179 | 1.8 | 38 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 29.1 | 74 | 58.3 | 148 | 11.0 | 28 | 1.6 | 4 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 24.7 | 81 | 65.9 | 216 | 7.9 | 26 | 1.5 | 5 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 23.4 | 223 | 66.8 | 636 | 8.3 | 79 | 1.5 | 14 |
| Mixed other | 22.3 | 122 | 66.5 | 363 | 8.4 | 46 | 2.7 | 15 |
| White | 22.5 | 9,958 | 64.8 | 28,748 | 10.7 | 4,764 | 2.0 | 879 |
| White British | 23.0 | 9,547 | 64.2 | 26,679 | 10.8 | 4,466 | 2.0 | 836 |
| White Irish | 30.5 | 76 | 60.6 | 151 | 7.6 | 19 | 1.2 | 3 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | 23.7 | 18 | 67.1 | 51 | 9.2 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 |
| White other | 12.7 | 317 | 74.8 | 1,867 | 10.9 | 272 | 1.6 | 40 |
| Other | 19.9 | 109 | 70.7 | 387 | 8.6 | 47 | 0.7 | 4 |
| Arab | 21.4 | 53 | 69.8 | 173 | 7.7 | 19 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Any other | 18.8 | 56 | 71.8 | 214 | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Length of fixed-term tenancies in social housing By ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- in 2017/18, there were 53,827 new social housing lettings with a fixed period tenancy length where the ethnicity of the household was known
- for all ethnic groups, the most common length of new fixed-term tenancies was 3 to 5 years
- 80.9% of Bangladeshi households had a tenancy length of 3 to 5 years (the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups), while 7.6% of Bangladeshi households had a tenancy of longer than 5 years (the lowest percentage) – this has remained the same since 2015/16
- overall, 22.1% of fixed-term tenancies were for 2 years or less, 65.4% were for 3 to 5 years, 10.6% were for 6 to 9 years, and 1.9% were for 10 or more years
3. By ethnicity over time
| 2 years or less | 3 to 5 years | 6 to 9 years | 10 or more years | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | 2 years or less 2015/16 % | 2 years or less 2016/17 % | 2 years or less 2017/18 % | 3 to 5 years 2015/16 % | 3 to 5 years 2016/17 % | 3 to 5 years 2017/18 % | 6 to 9 years 2015/16 % | 6 to 9 years 2016/17 % | 6 to 9 years 2017/18 % | 10 or more years 2015/16 % | 10 or more years 2016/17 % | 10 or more years 2017/18 % |
| All | 25.0 | 23.4 | 22.1 | 54.9 | 63.3 | 65.4 | 17.7 | 11.5 | 10.6 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.9 |
| Asian | 18.2 | 17.8 | 20.3 | 63.0 | 71.6 | 66.8 | 16.4 | 10.0 | 11.3 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 1.7 |
| Bangladeshi | 11.6 | 11.5 | 11.4 | 75.4 | 80.3 | 80.9 | 10.1 | 7.5 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 3.5 |
| Chinese | 18.7 | 16.1 | 18.1 | 55.1 | 73.7 | 67.0 | 23.6 | 10.2 | 11.7 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 3.2 |
| Indian | 23.3 | 22.0 | 30.3 | 57.1 | 65.6 | 57.1 | 17.6 | 12.1 | 11.3 | 2.0 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 1.3 |
| Pakistani | 23.4 | 20.7 | 25.4 | 59.1 | 69.9 | 62.4 | 15.3 | 9.1 | 11.8 | 2.2 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 0.4 |
| Asian other | 17.3 | 18.9 | 18.1 | 58.6 | 68.3 | 65.2 | 21.7 | 11.8 | 15.4 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| Black | 18.7 | 21.0 | 19.3 | 56.4 | 65.4 | 69.9 | 22.5 | 12.8 | 9.6 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| Black African | 16.7 | 18.8 | 17.6 | 59.2 | 67.1 | 71.5 | 22.0 | 13.2 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Black Caribbean | 21.7 | 23.6 | 21.2 | 51.6 | 64.0 | 70.0 | 23.9 | 11.8 | 7.5 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 1.4 |
| Black other | 19.2 | 24.3 | 22.3 | 58.0 | 61.0 | 61.7 | 20.5 | 13.8 | 14.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.4 |
| Mixed | 24.8 | 25.2 | 24.0 | 55.0 | 64.3 | 65.5 | 18.0 | 9.5 | 8.6 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.8 |
| Mixed White/Asian | 27.7 | 30.4 | 29.1 | 52.1 | 61.0 | 58.3 | 17.9 | 8.6 | 11.0 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| Mixed White/Black African | 22.6 | 19.2 | 24.7 | 55.0 | 67.3 | 65.9 | 18.4 | 11.5 | 7.9 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| Mixed White/Black Caribbean | 27.1 | 28.6 | 23.4 | 54.1 | 62.9 | 66.8 | 17.3 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| Mixed other | 21.0 | 20.2 | 22.3 | 57.9 | 66.8 | 66.5 | 19.1 | 12.0 | 8.4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.7 |
| White | 26.4 | 23.9 | 22.5 | 54.0 | 62.5 | 64.8 | 17.2 | 11.6 | 10.7 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| White British | 27.1 | 24.5 | 23.0 | 53.3 | 61.8 | 64.2 | 17.1 | 11.6 | 10.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| White Irish | 28.5 | 25.4 | 30.5 | 52.2 | 63.8 | 60.6 | 17.0 | 10.5 | 7.6 | 2.4 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 1.2 |
| White Gypsy/Traveller | 17.9 | 21.7 | 23.7 | 51.3 | 62.7 | 67.1 | 30.8 | 14.4 | 9.2 | 0.0 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 0.0 |
| White other | 15.3 | 14.0 | 12.7 | 64.4 | 72.6 | 74.8 | 18.7 | 12.3 | 10.9 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Other | 22.5 | 25.0 | 19.9 | 60.7 | 65.4 | 70.7 | 15.5 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 0.7 |
| Arab | 19.4 | 26.0 | 21.4 | 68.3 | 64.7 | 69.8 | 11.2 | 7.1 | 7.7 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 1.2 |
| Any other | 23.6 | 24.6 | 18.8 | 58.0 | 65.7 | 71.8 | 17.1 | 8.5 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 1.4 | 1.2 | withheld to protect confidentiality |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Length of fixed-term tenancies in social housing By ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, between 2015/16 and 2017/18, there was an increase in fixed-term tenancies of 5 years or less in all ethnic groups, and a corresponding decrease in tenancies of 6 years or more
- in this period, the percentage of new fixed-term tenancies that were for 3 to 5 years increased from 54.9% to 65.4% – Black Caribbean households had the biggest increase, at 18.4 percentage points
- in the same period, the overall percentage of new fixed-term tenancies that were for 6 to 9 years decreased from 17.7% to 10.6% – White Gypsy/Traveller households had the biggest decrease, at 21.6 percentage points, but it is not possible to draw firm conclusions about this group due to the small number of households involved
4. Methodology
The 3 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 differ from other published totals for new lettings, as they exclude lettings 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.
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 or local authority 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 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government source on social housing data (Local Authority Housing Statistics).
For further information on weighting, see the Quality Report (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF).
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 confidentiality and disclosure practices for the Continuous Recording (CORE) system.
The CORE system records information anonymously and maintains absolute confidentiality on tenants’ circumstances. Access to record-level information is only available through a licence agreement.
Rounding
Percentages have been rounded to 1 decimal place. Due to rounding, some totals may not add up to 100%.
Quality and methodology information
5. Data sources
Source
Social housing lettings in England: April 2017 to March 2018
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
The aim of Continuous Recording of Lettings and Sales in Social Housing in England (CORE) is to provide information about new social housing lettings, sales, tenants and buyers across England.
This 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: Measure, Time, Time_type, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Tenancy Length, Value, Numerator