Social housing lettings

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1. Main facts and figures

  • in the year to March 2017, Asian households made up 4.5% of new social housing lettings, and 7.7% of the overall population of England in 2016
  • black households made up 7.1% of new social housing lettings, and 3.4% of the overall population
  • in the year to March 2018, the most likely route into social housing for every ethnic group was by applying directly – 46.3% of all households got into social housing this way
  • for all ethnic groups except the Bangladeshi group, homelessness was the most common reason why vulnerable households were given priority for social housing
  • for Bangladeshi households, the most common reason for being given priority for social housing was living in unsanitary, unsatisfactory or overcrowded conditions
  • the percentage of income (including benefits) spent on rent for new social housing lettings was similar across all ethnic groups, ranging from 33% to 40% – by comparison, the percentages in the previous year ranged from 34% to 41%
  • 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 went up from 54.9% to 65.4%

2. Things you need to know

What the data measures

The data measures different aspects of social housing lettings in England, by ethnicity.

It shows:

  • the number and percentage of new social housing lettings
  • the percentage of new social housing lettings by type of referral
  • the number and percentage of new social housing lettings given to vulnerable households
  • the amount of rent paid for social housing lettings as a percentage of total household income
  • the number and percentage of new, permanent fixed-term lettings in social housing by the length of the tenancy

The information relates to households of either one person or a group of people sharing cooking facilities and a living room or dining area. It must be their main or only home.

Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Not included in the data

The data does not include:

  • lettings where a tenant started a new tenancy agreement but stayed in the same property
  • lettings where the ethnicity of the main tenant was not known (5% of households)
  • households who did not give details of their income (43% of households)
  • lifetime tenancies, which made up the majority of new social housing lettings in the year ending March 2018
  • mutual exchanges, conversions of starter or introductory tenancies to assured or secure tenancies, successions by assignment, and temporary general needs housing

Data is not shown if there are only 1 or 2 people in a particular ethnic group. This is to protect people’s confidentiality.

The ethnic groups used in the data

The data uses the 18 ethnic groups from the 2011 Census.

Each household’s ethnic group is the ethnicity of the main tenant. In joint tenancies, the main tenant is the person who is either employed, or unemployed and looking for work. If both tenants have the same employment status, the main tenant is the oldest person.

The ethnicity of the main tenant was not known for 5% of all new social housing lettings.

Methodology

Read the detailed methodology document for the data used on this page.

This data has not been adjusted to take into account the number of people living in a household, or their employment status. For example, a household of 4 people could be made up of 2 working adults and 2 dependent children, or it could include 4 working adults.

You can see data about families and households by ethnicity.

The data has been weighted so it is representative of the population of England. Read more about how weighting is used to make survey data more representative of the whole group being studied.

In the data file

See Download the data for data by local authority and income band.

3. By ethnicity (new social housing lettings)

Percentage and number of new social housing lettings, and percentage of the population, by ethnicity
Ethnicity % Social housing lettings Population (2016 estimate)
Asian 4.5 14,313 7.7
Bangladeshi 0.9 2,830 0.8
Chinese 0.1 477 0.8
Indian 0.7 2,371 2.7
Pakistani 1.5 4,765 1.9
Asian other 1.2 3,870 1.6
Black 7.1 22,530 3.4
Black African 3.8 12,059 1.7
Black Caribbean 2.4 7,529 1.2
Black other 0.9 2,942 0.5
Mixed 3.0 9,418 1.8
Mixed White/Asian 0.4 1,165 0.5
Mixed White/Black African 0.5 1,555 0.2
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 1.4 4,510 0.7
Mixed other 0.7 2,188 0.4
White 83.5 265,736 86.1
White British 78.9 251,093 80.2
White Irish 0.6 1,786 1.0
White Gypsy/Traveller 0.1 429 0.1
White other 3.9 12,428 4.8
Other 1.9 6,153 1.0
Arab 0.6 1,766 0.4
Any other 1.4 4,387 0.6

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (new social housing lettings)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (new social housing lettings)’ (CSV)

4. By ethnicity (routes into social housing)

Percentage of new social housing lettings, by ethnicity and type of referral
Ethnicity Tenant applied direct Nominated by local housing authority Internal transfer Referred by local authority housing department Social services Voluntary agency Police, probation, prison Other social landlord Other
% % % % % % % % %
All 46.3 25.4 12.5 4.5 2.8 1.4 0.7 0.5 6.0
Asian 45.0 26.6 10.1 4.1 3.0 2.4 0.8 0.7 7.4
Bangladeshi 44.6 30.9 11.7 2.2 2.0 1.6 0.8 0.5 5.6
Chinese 42.3 26.6 11.9 5.9 4.7 1.2 0.0 0.9 6.5
Indian 41.6 24.8 10.2 5.1 3.2 3.2 1.4 0.6 9.8
Pakistani 43.6 27.1 8.4 4.8 3.3 3.3 1.0 0.9 7.7
Asian other 48.2 24.2 10.4 3.9 3.2 1.8 0.4 0.6 7.2
Black 41.3 23.9 13.5 5.0 3.3 2.7 0.7 0.7 9.0
Black African 42.8 24.9 12.0 4.6 3.1 2.9 0.4 0.6 8.7
Black Caribbean 36.3 25.0 14.1 6.0 4.0 2.6 1.1 0.8 10.1
Black other 46.6 18.1 17.8 4.1 2.5 2.1 0.7 0.7 7.4
Mixed 39.1 28.3 10.8 6.4 3.7 2.2 1.0 0.7 7.7
Mixed White/Asian 35.5 29.5 11.3 7.9 4.1 1.4 1.5 0.7 8.0
Mixed White/Black African 44.3 27.6 10.9 5.3 2.9 1.7 0.6 0.6 6.0
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 36.9 28.1 11.8 7.1 3.5 3.0 1.0 0.7 8.0
Mixed other 41.6 28.6 9.0 5.3 4.2 1.5 0.8 0.9 8.1
White 47.0 25.5 12.6 4.4 2.7 1.2 0.7 0.4 5.5
White British 46.8 25.3 12.8 4.5 2.7 1.2 0.7 0.4 5.5
White Irish 39.5 20.4 15.5 6.8 3.6 2.2 1.0 0.5 10.5
White Gypsy/Traveller 44.2 27.4 10.0 5.6 2.4 2.4 withheld to protect confidentiality withheld to protect confidentiality 6.7
White other 51.1 29.3 8.6 2.4 1.7 1.1 0.2 0.3 5.4
Other 50.1 19.0 9.8 5.1 3.0 1.5 0.4 0.7 10.3
Arab 44.5 20.8 10.7 5.9 3.0 1.6 0.7 0.5 12.2
Any other 54.1 17.7 9.1 4.5 3.0 1.4 0.3 0.9 9.0

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (routes into social housing)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (routes into social housing)’ (CSV)

5. By ethnicity (vulnerable households by priority need)

Percentage and number of new social housing lettings within each ethnic group, by type of priority need
Hardship Homelessness Insanitary/Unsatisfactory Housing Medical Welfare Multiple
Ethnicity Hardship % Hardship Number Homelessness % Homelessness Number Insanitary/Unsatisfactory Housing % Insanitary/Unsatisfactory Housing Number Medical Welfare % Medical Welfare Number Multiple % Multiple Number
All 14.1 11,673 37.1 30,741 21.5 17,808 25.0 20,724 2.4 1,981
Asian 11.7 631 42.0 2,261 30.0 1,613 13.1 704 3.2 175
Bangladeshi 6.8 76 33.1 372 48.4 544 9.2 104 2.6 29
Chinese 17.4 20 41.7 48 26.1 30 9.6 11 5.2 6
Indian 15.5 80 41.9 216 21.5 111 18.8 97 2.3 12
Pakistani 12.9 172 47.0 628 23.4 312 14.4 193 2.3 31
Asian other 13.9 205 47.1 694 21.8 321 14.0 206 3.3 48
Black 12.5 868 40.5 2,808 28.7 1,987 12.5 866 5.9 407
Black African 13.0 417 45.8 1,467 26.8 858 10.0 322 4.4 140
Black Caribbean 14.8 244 38.9 643 23.9 396 18.1 300 4.3 71
Black other 10.6 89 38.4 322 32.8 275 12.5 105 5.6 47
Mixed 15.2 439 42.6 1,234 24.1 697 14.6 424 3.5 102
Mixed White/Asian 16.1 49 47.7 145 21.4 65 11.5 35 3.3 10
Mixed White/Black African 13.9 61 39.4 173 25.3 111 16.4 72 5.0 22
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 14.5 166 44.7 513 22.8 262 14.5 166 3.5 40
Mixed other 16.3 110 43.7 294 24.1 162 14.4 97 1.5 10
White 14.4 9,591 35.9 23,921 19.9 13,262 27.8 18,542 1.9 1,274
White British 14.3 8,277 36.2 20,882 19.4 11,212 28.4 16,383 1.6 952
White Irish 14.5 60 39.7 164 15.7 65 25.9 107 4.1 17
White Gypsy/Traveller withheld to protect confidentiality withheld to protect confidentiality 48.0 47 19.4 19 16.3 16 withheld to protect confidentiality withheld to protect confidentiality
White other 11.9 346 41.5 1,202 28.9 836 14.2 410 3.5 102
Other 12.9 145 46.1 518 22.1 248 16.7 187 2.1 24
Arab withheld to protect confidentiality withheld to protect confidentiality 48.8 202 23.9 99 15.0 62 withheld to protect confidentiality withheld to protect confidentiality
Any other 14.0 73 44.8 233 19.4 101 18.7 97 3.1 16

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (vulnerable households by priority need)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (vulnerable households by priority need)’ (CSV)

6. By ethnicity (income spent on rent)

Percentage of income spent on rent for new social lettings, by ethnicity over time
Ethnicity 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18
% % %
All N/A* 36 35
Asian
Bangladeshi 38 36 35
Chinese 38 40 36
Indian 38 38 37
Pakistani 34 34 33
Asian other 39 38 37
Black
Black African 38 38 37
Black Caribbean 43 41 40
Black other 40 37 38
Mixed
Mixed White/Asian 40 39 37
Mixed White/Black African 39 38 37
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 40 39 39
Mixed other 38 38 37
White
White British 37 36 35
White Irish 40 40 39
White Gypsy/Traveller 39 37 36
White other 34 34 33
Other
Arab 38 38 36
Any other 38 37 38

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (income spent on rent)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (income spent on rent)’ (CSV)

7. By ethnicity (length of new fixed-term tenancies)

Length of tenancy for new fixed-term lettings in social housing, 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 (length of new fixed-term tenancies)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (length of new fixed-term tenancies)’ (CSV)

8. Data sources

Source

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.

9. Download the data

New social housing lettings - Spreadsheet (csv) 318 KB

This file contains the following variables: Measure Time Time_type Ethnicity Ethnicity_type Income Geography_code Geography_name Geography_type Age Value Numerator Population estimate

Routes into social housing - Spreadsheet (csv) 115 KB

This file contains the following variables: Measure Time Time_type Ethnicity Ethnicity_type Source of Referral Value Numerator

Vulnerable households - Spreadsheet (csv) 18 KB

This file contains the following variables: Measure Time Time_type Ethnicity Ethnicity_type Reasonable Preference Value Numerator

Income spent on rent of social lettings - Spreadsheet (csv) 98 KB

This file contains the following variables: Measure Time Time_type Geography_code Geography_name Geography_type Ethnicity Ethnicity_type Value

Length of tenancy in social housing - Spreadsheet (csv) 36 KB

This file contains the following variables: Measure Time Time_type Ethnicity Ethnicity_type Tenancy Length Value Numerator