New figures from the English Housing Survey show that owner occupation remains the largest tenure in England, accounting for 65% of households in 2024-25.
The private rented sector made up 19% of households and the social rented sector 16%. While the overall proportion of owner occupiers is similar to a decade ago, the composition has shifted, with outright owners now significantly outnumbering mortgagors.
Outright ownership rose to 36% of households in 2024-25, up from 33% in 2014-15, while mortgagors fell from 30% to 29% over the same period.
The size of the private rented sector remained broadly stable across English regions, though London recorded a fall in the proportion of private renters.
The share of households privately renting in the capital fell from 32% in 2023-24 to 28% in 2024-25.
The survey notes that proportions can be affected by relative shifts in the owner occupied and social rented sectors, meaning small increases in these tenures can reduce the apparent share of private renters.
The data also highlights differences in the characteristics of households across tenures. Owner occupiers were the least internationally diverse, with 95% of household reference persons from the UK or Republic of Ireland, compared with 88% of social renters and 68% of private renters.
Income distribution varied significantly: half of social renters were in the lowest income quintile, while mortgagors were concentrated in the two highest, with 40% in the top quintile and 29% in the second highest.
Private renters and outright owners were more evenly spread across the income range.
Costs continued to rise across all tenures. Mean weekly mortgage payments increased to £375 in London and £220 in the rest of England, up from £263 and £170 five years earlier.
Private rents rose to an average of £393 in London and £207 elsewhere, while social rents reached £171 in London and £119 in the rest of England.
The survey also recorded 1.2 million vacant dwellings in 2024, representing 5% of all homes, with vacancy rates highest in the private rented sector at 11%.
The most common reason for vacancy in rented homes was awaiting another tenant or owner.
Satisfaction levels have declined across all tenures since 2019-20. Owner occupiers remained the most satisfied at 94%, followed by private renters at 81% and social renters at 75%, marking the lowest levels of satisfaction in the sector.
