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Social Rented Housing

Answer

The number of households on local authority housing registers (commonly known as social housing waiting lists) in England, including breakdowns by regions, is available each year since 1987 in live table 600 on gov.uk here.

Using the Office for National Statistics’ 2021 rural-urban classification for the 2024 geography in England, which can be found here, it is possible to present sub-national trends in rural and urban areas.

On 31 March 2025, there were 1,340,527 households on local authorities housing registers in England, a 7% increase compared to 31 March 2015. Of these, 230,200 households were classified as rural and 1,110,327 were classified as urban. These figures represent a 1% and 8% increase compared to 31 March 2025.

The number of households on housing registers (waiting lists) is not the same as the number of households waiting.

Local authorities periodically review their registers to remove households who no longer require housing, so the total number of households on housing registers may overstate the number of households who still require social housing at any one time. Housing register size may also be affected by other factors. For example, there is the potential for some households to be on the housing register of more than one local authority.

The frequency of reviews varies between local authorities.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL1186

Session

2026-27

Attachment

Rural urban classification; live table on rent

Subjects

Social rented housing

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk