Social housing lettings
Published
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity (new social housing lettings) section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity (routes into social housing) section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity (vulnerable households by priority need) section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity (income spent on rent) section
- 7. Navigate to By ethnicity (length of new fixed-term tenancies) section
- 8. Navigate toData sources section
- 9. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
-
in the year ending in March 2024, lead tenants from the Black ethnic group made up 7.8% of new social housing lettings – at the time of the 2021 Census, Black people made up 3.9% of the population of England aged 16 and over
-
Lead tenants from the Asian ethnic group made up 4.9% of new social housing lettings, while Asian people made up 9.0% of the population of England aged 16 and over
-
the most common route into social housing was applying directly (40.2%), followed by being nominated by a local housing authority (28.4%)
-
in every ethnic group, homelessness was the most common reason for vulnerable households having priority for social housing
-
in the White Gypsy or Traveller ethnic group, 54.9% of vulnerable households were given priority for social housing because of homelessness – the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups
-
for all ethnic groups except the Bangladeshi group, the percentage of income spent on rent for new social housing lettings went down in the 2 years to March 2023 – it went back up for most ethnic groups between 2023 and 2024, but was still below 2021 levels for most ethnic groups
-
in most ethnic groups, the most common length of new fixed-term social housing tenancies was less than 2 years – 56.1% of lead tenants from the Chinese ethnic group had this length of tenancy, compared with 35.6% of lead tenants from the Bangladeshi ethnic group
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
Social housing lettings are when social housing properties - homes owned or used by social landlords - are rented by households at cheaper rents than in the private sector. The data measures different aspects of social housing lettings in England, by ethnicity. It shows:
- the number and percentage of new, permanent 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, by type of priority need
- the amount of rent paid for social housing lettings as a percentage of total household income (excluding supported housing)
- the number and percentage of new, permanent fixed-term lettings in social housing by the length of the tenancy
The social housing lettings data is for the whole of England for the lead tenant in the household aged 16 and over. The population data from the 2021 census shows the population of England aged 16 and over for each group
Percentages of tenants are rounded to 1 decimal place. Percentages of income spent on rent are rounded to whole numbers because fewer tenants provided income data.
Not included in the data
The data does not include:
- lettings where the ethnicity of the lead tenant was not known (11.8% of households)
- mutual exchanges
- conversions of starter or introductory tenancies to assured or secure tenancies
- successions by assignment
- temporary general needs housing
Data on income spent on rent does not include households whose income was not known (62.8% of households).
Data on fixed-term tenancies does not include lifetime tenancies – these made up 89.9% of new social lettings in the year ending March 2024.
For some vulnerable households (9.8%), the reason for being given social housing was not known. In previous years we have not published this data, but have now included this category for completeness.
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
For data analysed by ethnicity, the 18 standardised ethnic groups from the 2011 Census are shown.
Each household’s ethnic group is the ethnicity of the ‘lead tenant’. In joint tenancies, the lead tenant is the person who is either employed, or unemployed and looking for work. There may be people of different ethnicities in the same household.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for this data.
The totals for new lettings in this data may be different from figures published elsewhere. This is because this data does not include households whose ethnicity was not known or use estimated data for ethnicity.
In the data file
Download the data for:
- figures rounded to 1 decimal place
- numerators
3. By ethnicity (new social housing lettings)
| Ethnicity | % | Social housing lettings | % of age 16 and over population (2021 census) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 4.9 | 11,214 | 9.0 |
| Bangladeshi | 0.8 | 1,751 | 1.0 |
| Chinese | 0.1 | 286 | 0.8 |
| Indian | 0.7 | 1,521 | 3.2 |
| Pakistani | 1.6 | 3,618 | 2.4 |
| Asian other | 1.8 | 4,038 | 1.6 |
| Black | 7.8 | 17,767 | 3.9 |
| Black African | 4.3 | 9,788 | 2.4 |
| Black Caribbean | 1.9 | 4,270 | 1.2 |
| Black other | 1.6 | 3,709 | 0.4 |
| Mixed | 2.9 | 6,631 | 2.0 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 0.3 | 674 | 0.5 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 0.4 | 911 | 0.3 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 1.1 | 2,560 | 0.6 |
| Mixed other | 1.1 | 2,488 | 0.6 |
| White | 81.6 | 186,657 | 83.0 |
| White British | 76.0 | 173,846 | 75.1 |
| White Irish | 0.5 | 1,085 | 1.0 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 0.1 | 325 | 0.1 |
| White other | 5.0 | 11,401 | 6.6 |
| Other | 2.8 | 6,375 | 2.1 |
| Arab | 1.1 | 2,591 | 0.5 |
| Other ethnic background | 1.7 | 3,783 | 1.6 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 30,653 | N/A* |
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)
| Ethnicity | Tenant applied direct | Nominated by local housing authority | Internal transfer | Referred by local authority housing department | Social services | Voluntary agency | Police, probation or prison | Other social landlord | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 40.2 | 28.4 | 15.4 | 4.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 9.7 |
| Asian | 38.4 | 28.7 | 12.5 | 4.9 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 12.3 |
| Bangladeshi | 32.7 | 36.2 | 14.5 | 3.0 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 1.8 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 1.0 | 10.5 |
| Chinese | 40.6 | 25.9 | 15.4 | 4.5 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 1.0 | not collected | withheld to protect confidentiality | 11.9 |
| Indian | 40.4 | 26.9 | 13.0 | 4.0 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 11.8 |
| Pakistani | 41.1 | 27.1 | 10.8 | 4.5 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 12.7 |
| Asian other | 37.4 | 27.8 | 12.8 | 6.4 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 12.9 |
| Black | 36.9 | 26.6 | 14.8 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 13.0 |
| Black African | 38.9 | 26.3 | 13.2 | 5.5 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 12.9 |
| Black Caribbean | 31.2 | 29.0 | 17.2 | 6.1 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 12.9 |
| Black other | 37.8 | 24.9 | 16.4 | 5.4 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 13.2 |
| Mixed | 32.7 | 31.8 | 13.6 | 5.7 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 13.1 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 37.1 | 28.2 | 10.4 | 8.8 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 0.6 | 0.9 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 13.2 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 34.9 | 30.6 | 12.7 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 13.6 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 29.3 | 33.5 | 15.0 | 5.8 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 13.1 |
| Mixed other | 34.2 | 31.4 | 13.2 | 5.3 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 12.9 |
| White | 40.6 | 29.2 | 15.5 | 4.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 8.5 |
| White British | 40.7 | 28.8 | 15.8 | 4.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 8.4 |
| White Irish | 34.7 | 26.4 | 17.0 | 5.4 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 13.0 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 29.2 | 32.9 | 12.6 | 5.8 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 1.2 | 0.9 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 15.7 |
| White other | 38.8 | 35.3 | 10.1 | 4.1 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 10.0 |
| Other | 36.5 | 25.3 | 13.0 | 7.4 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 15.1 |
| Arab | 36.9 | 24.9 | 11.7 | 7.8 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 15.9 |
| Other ethnic background | 36.2 | 25.5 | 13.9 | 7.1 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 14.5 |
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)
| Hardship | Homelessness | Insanitary/Unsatisfactory Housing | Medical Welfare | Multiple | Don't Know | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Hardship % | Hardship Number | Homelessness % | Homelessness Number | Insanitary/Unsatisfactory Housing % | Insanitary/Unsatisfactory Housing Number | Medical Welfare % | Medical Welfare Number | Multiple % | Multiple Number | Don't Know % | Don't Know Number |
| All | 9.4 | 9,058 | 44.9 | 43,049 | 12.8 | 12,239 | 19.0 | 18,211 | 4.1 | 3,945 | 9.8 | 9,379 |
| Asian | 10.2 | 480 | 50.0 | 2,348 | 13.3 | 626 | 12.1 | 570 | 4.2 | 196 | 10.1 | 473 |
| Bangladeshi | 9.5 | 68 | 45.1 | 322 | 22.5 | 161 | 8.3 | 59 | 4.3 | 31 | 10.1 | 72 |
| Chinese | 12.3 | 13 | 50.0 | 53 | 4.7 | 5 | 19.8 | 21 | 3.8 | 4 | 9.4 | 10 |
| Indian | 7.4 | 41 | 47.6 | 263 | 12.5 | 69 | 16.3 | 90 | 3.4 | 19 | 12.8 | 71 |
| Pakistani | 11.4 | 183 | 52.2 | 841 | 12.8 | 206 | 10.4 | 168 | 5.4 | 87 | 7.8 | 126 |
| Asian other | 10.2 | 175 | 50.8 | 869 | 10.8 | 185 | 13.5 | 231 | 3.3 | 56 | 11.3 | 193 |
| Black | 11.6 | 792 | 48.7 | 3,338 | 14.7 | 1,009 | 10.4 | 714 | 3.9 | 264 | 10.8 | 737 |
| Black African | 11.3 | 434 | 51.9 | 1,998 | 15.3 | 588 | 8.3 | 321 | 3.8 | 146 | 9.5 | 365 |
| Black Caribbean | 13.4 | 218 | 42.5 | 690 | 15.0 | 244 | 14.7 | 238 | 4.1 | 67 | 10.2 | 166 |
| Black other | 10.2 | 140 | 47.2 | 651 | 12.8 | 177 | 11.2 | 154 | 3.7 | 51 | 14.9 | 205 |
| Mixed | 10.5 | 281 | 49.0 | 1,310 | 13.9 | 373 | 12.1 | 323 | 3.9 | 104 | 10.7 | 285 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 9.5 | 28 | 51.5 | 152 | 9.8 | 29 | 16.3 | 48 | 3.1 | 9 | 9.8 | 29 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 12.3 | 42 | 48.5 | 166 | 15.2 | 52 | 10.8 | 37 | 4.1 | 14 | 9.1 | 31 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 10.5 | 108 | 44.5 | 458 | 15.8 | 163 | 12.8 | 132 | 4.5 | 46 | 11.9 | 122 |
| Mixed other | 10.2 | 103 | 52.9 | 534 | 12.8 | 129 | 10.6 | 107 | 3.6 | 36 | 10.1 | 102 |
| White | 9.2 | 6,509 | 43.9 | 31,226 | 12.6 | 8,956 | 21.4 | 15,214 | 4.1 | 2,947 | 8.8 | 6,277 |
| White British | 9.2 | 6,053 | 43.3 | 28,587 | 12.5 | 8,230 | 22.0 | 14,530 | 4.2 | 2,751 | 8.8 | 5,824 |
| White Irish | 9.6 | 40 | 40.3 | 168 | 10.3 | 43 | 29.0 | 121 | 2.9 | 12 | 8.2 | 34 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 8.3 | 12 | 54.9 | 79 | 10.4 | 15 | 13.9 | 20 | 4.9 | 7 | 6.9 | 10 |
| White other | 8.8 | 405 | 52.1 | 2,392 | 14.5 | 668 | 11.8 | 543 | 3.9 | 177 | 8.9 | 409 |
| Other | 10.6 | 318 | 53.0 | 1,590 | 10.6 | 319 | 8.6 | 257 | 3.2 | 97 | 13.9 | 418 |
| Arab | 10.9 | 135 | 53.4 | 661 | 11.0 | 136 | 9.6 | 119 | 3.7 | 46 | 11.4 | 141 |
| Other ethnic background | 10.4 | 183 | 52.8 | 929 | 10.4 | 183 | 7.8 | 138 | 2.9 | 51 | 15.7 | 277 |
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)
| Ethnicity | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | |
| All | 38 | 37 | 36 | 36 |
| Asian | 40 | 39 | 37 | 38 |
| Bangladeshi | 38 | 39 | 39 | 39 |
| Chinese | 35 | 38 | 36 | 39 |
| Indian | 39 | 38 | 37 | 37 |
| Pakistani | 38 | 38 | 36 | 36 |
| Asian other | 44 | 42 | 38 | 39 |
| Black | 40 | 39 | 38 | 38 |
| Black African | 39 | 39 | 37 | 38 |
| Black Caribbean | 42 | 41 | 39 | 40 |
| Black other | 41 | 38 | 37 | 37 |
| Mixed | 43 | 40 | 39 | 40 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 43 | 41 | 39 | 38 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 42 | 38 | 39 | 40 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 43 | 42 | 39 | 40 |
| Mixed other | 44 | 39 | 37 | 39 |
| White | 37 | 37 | 35 | 35 |
| White British | 38 | 37 | 35 | 35 |
| White Irish | 39 | 40 | 35 | 39 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 48 | 41 | 33 | 44 |
| White other | 34 | 34 | 33 | 35 |
| Other | 42 | 41 | 39 | 40 |
| Arab | 43 | 42 | 39 | 40 |
| Other ethnic background | 41 | 39 | 38 | 40 |
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)
| 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 | 41.6 | 10,976 | 45.4 | 11,977 | 4.0 | 1,056 | 8.9 | 2,346 |
| Asian | 47.0 | 598 | 40.0 | 509 | 4.7 | 60 | 8.3 | 105 |
| Bangladeshi | 35.6 | 79 | 50.9 | 113 | 6.8 | 15 | 6.8 | 15 |
| Chinese | 56.1 | 23 | 29.3 | 12 | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality |
| Indian | 49.7 | 82 | 32.1 | 53 | 5.5 | 9 | 12.1 | 20 |
| Pakistani | 52.1 | 183 | 39.0 | 137 | 2.6 | 9 | 6.3 | 22 |
| Asian other | 46.8 | 231 | 39.3 | 194 | 5.5 | 27 | 8.7 | 43 |
| Black | 44.9 | 885 | 43.8 | 863 | 4.7 | 93 | 6.5 | 129 |
| Black African | 47.1 | 494 | 42.5 | 445 | 4.2 | 44 | 6.2 | 65 |
| Black Caribbean | 44.5 | 186 | 42.6 | 178 | 6.7 | 28 | 6.5 | 27 |
| Black other | 40.7 | 205 | 47.6 | 240 | 4.2 | 21 | 7.5 | 38 |
| Mixed | 41.3 | 310 | 45.7 | 343 | 4.9 | 37 | 8.1 | 61 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 43.8 | 32 | 41.1 | 30 | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality |
| Mixed White and Black African | 40.4 | 38 | 47.9 | 45 | 4.3 | 4 | 7.4 | 7 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 43.4 | 118 | 43.8 | 119 | 6.6 | 18 | 6.2 | 17 |
| Mixed other | 39.1 | 122 | 47.4 | 148 | 4.2 | 13 | 9.3 | 29 |
| White | 40.6 | 7,441 | 45.7 | 8,374 | 4.0 | 739 | 9.7 | 1,782 |
| White British | 40.7 | 6,833 | 45.3 | 7,610 | 4.0 | 674 | 9.9 | 1,666 |
| White Irish | 39.3 | 48 | 38.5 | 47 | 9.0 | 11 | 13.1 | 16 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 37.5 | 12 | 43.8 | 14 | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality | withheld to protect confidentiality |
| White other | 39.2 | 548 | 50.2 | 702 | 3.6 | 51 | 7.0 | 98 |
| Other | 50.4 | 359 | 40.4 | 288 | 2.9 | 21 | 6.0 | 43 |
| Arab | 48.2 | 137 | 41.2 | 117 | 4.6 | 13 | 6.0 | 17 |
| Other ethnic background | 52.0 | 222 | 39.8 | 170 | 1.9 | 8 | 6.3 | 27 |
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
Social housing lettings in England, April 2023 to March 2024
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The continuous recording of lettings and sales in social housing in England (referred to as CORE) is a national information source that records information on the characteristics of both private registered providers and local authority new social housing tenants and the homes they rent.
CORE is a complete census of new social housing lettings, which records: - social rent lettings - affordable rent lettings - intermediate rent lettings
The aim of 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, and regulatory and housing policy decisions.
9. Download the data
measure time time_type ethnicity ethnicity_type reasonable_preference value numerator
measure time time_type ethnicity ethnicity_type tenancy_length value numerator
measure time time_type geography_code geography_name geography_type ethnicity ethnicity_type value
measure time time_type ethnicity ethnicity_type source_of_referral value numerator
measure time time_type ethnicity ethnicity_type income geography_code geography_name geography_type age value numerator