Fall in size of private rental sector according to government figures

There’s a been a slight fall in the size of the private rental sector in England according to government figures. 

Latest data from the English Housing Survey, analysed by the National Residential Landlords Association, shows there are now 4.438m households privately renting; this is a fall from the previous survey, a year ago, which was 4.552m.

It is the third consecutive year the numbers of households in the English private rental sector have fallen. 

NRLA says the number of privately renting households is now around 250,000 below the 2016-2017 peak of 4.692m. 

The association says this is not so much a continual fall but more of the sector finding a stable position following rapid growth since 2010.

The association adds: “Across England as a whole the fall in the size of the sector is slight when measured as a percentage of total households. However, only in two regions - London and Yorkshire and the Humber – have the proportion of households in the private rental sector increased since 2018/19.  

“In every other region the proportion of households in the private rental sector has either fallen, or, in the case of both Midlands regions, remained the same.”

It says the change has been most marked in South East England where the proportion of households that privately rent has dropped from 18.8 per cent to 16.0 per cent in just one year.