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More than one in 10 social rent homes breach Decent Homes Standard
A total of 13% of social rent homes fail to meet the Decent Homes Standard, new figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have revealed.
The annual English Housing Survey found that despite more than one in 10 social rent homes breaching the standard, this was still far lower than other housing tenures, with 21% of private rented homes not meeting the standard, and 16% of owner-occupied homes failing to meet the standard.
According to the survey, the average rent in the social rent sector stood at £102 per week, compared to £198 per week in the private rented sector.
The rent gap is larger in London, with private renters in the capital paying almost three times the rent of the average social tenant.
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Figures showed that the average private rent in London was £340 per week, compared to £129 per week for London’s social renters.
The survey found a stark difference between the proportion of earnings that is allocated to pay for housing across tenures. On average, those buying their home with a mortgage spent 18% of their household income on mortgage payments, whereas rent payments were 27% of total income for social renters and 31% of household income for private renters.
The report noted: “Social renters were more likely to report being in rent arrears than private renters: 9% reported that they were currently in arrears, and 8% reported that they had fallen behind with payments in the 12 months prior to the interview.
“Between 2019-20 and 2020-21 there was a decrease in social renters reporting being in arrears at the time of interview or in the 12 months prior to the interview.”
Social renters were found to live in their properties for longer, with the average social rent tenant spending 10.8 years at their current address, compared with 4.2 years for a private renter.
In 2020-21, 129,000 households moved from one social rented property to another, and 42,000 new households moved into the social housing sector.
There were 51,000 households that moved into the sector from other tenures, 35,000 of which were from the private rented sector.
The number of households that left the social housing sector was found to be negligible.
The social sector was also found to be more energy-efficient than the private sector, with two-thirds of social homes found to have energy ratings of A to C, compared to 42% of both private rent and owner-occupied homes.
Highlighting the mental health impact of COVID-19, the report found that during the pandemic well-being levels declined and loneliness increased, with social renters found to be the most anxious of all tenures.
Up to 17% of social renters reported that they were often or always lonely, compared to 6% of owner-occupiers and 9% of private renters.
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