Owner occupation remained the largest tenure group in England at 65% of households, with the social rented sector (16%) the smallest, and the private rented sector representing a similar proportion (19%) since 2013-14.

This is according to the latest findings from the Ministry of Housing’s English Housing Survey on demographics and resilience of households.

The survey also reveals that in 2023, there were 1.2 million vacant dwellings, making up 5% of dwellings in England.

The proportion of households with savings remained higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Outright owners were most likely to have savings (85%), compared to those buying with a mortgage (71%), private renters (52%) and social renters (28%).

This past year, households reported higher mortgage and rental costs, compared to five years ago (2018-19). The average weekly mortgage payments across England increased significantly (by £71 for London and £47 for the rest of England) and the average weekly rents increased by £36 for private renters and £16 for social renters.

In 2023-24 private renters and mortgagors saw the biggest increase in those reporting difficulty affording their housing costs compared to last year (2022-23), with private renters the most likely across all tenures to be struggling (32%), followed by social renters (27%) and mortgagors the least (14%).

Owner occupiers had higher scores for life satisfaction, thinking life is worthwhile, happiness, and lower scores for anxiety, than other tenures.