Fewer people in England and Wales now own their home than in 2021, in a national shift towards renting, according to newly-released data.
Overall, the majority of people still owned the home they lived in, at 62.5 per cent, or 15.5 million households, the 2021 census figures for England and Wales showed.
But the number was down from 64.3 per cent -15.0 million households — in 2011.
Meanwhile there was a rise in the number of households renting.
The number was up to 37.3 per cent — or 9.3 million households — in 2021, from 34.3 per cent — 8 million households — in 2011.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Predictably the number of private rented households in England has skyrocketed since 2011.
“Despite this, regulation of the sector stagnates. Every day our emergency helpline hears from private renters paying through the nose for damp, mouldy homes, and families too scared to complain for fear they'll be kicked out.”
She added: “The only lasting solution to our housing emergency is building more social homes.”
The proportion of households living rent-free declined from 1.4 per cent (315,000) in 2011, to 0.1 per cent (33,000) in 2021.
Census data also showed about 3.2 million people in England and Wales stayed at a second address for more than 30 days in 2021, probably in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Those spending time at second properties, such as holiday homes, students' home addresses, and partners' addresses, equated to 5.3 per cent of the population, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The percentage of people using a second address has risen since 2011, when 2.9 million people, or 5.2 per cent of the population, did so.
About 2.5 million usual residents in England and Wales have a second address within the UK and 736,000 have one outside it, according to the latest figures.
The most common types of second address were another parent or guardian's address, which would have been selected for children whose parents lived apart, used by 1.1 million; students' home addresses, used by 655,000; and holiday homes, used by 447,000.
The ONS highlighted the potential impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the figures.
For example, students may have been more likely to be staying at their family home for the whole academic year, rather than using a term-time address.
In 2011, 715,000 people had students' home addresses as a second address, and the decline probably reflects a pandemic effect, the ONS said.
The proportion of people using holiday homes has remained broadly stable since 2011, rising slightly from 426,000 to 447,000.
The number of people using an armed forces base as a second address has more than halved, from 73,000 in 2011 to 33,000 in 2021.
There was also a decrease in the number of people who used another address when working away from home, from 253,000 in 2011 to 189,000 in 2021.
For the first time, the question also included an option for the use of a partner's address.
In 2021, 294,000 people reported using this type of second address.
A slightly higher percentage of residents in England used a second address, at 5.4 per cent, than in Wales, at 5.2 per cent.
Within England, London, at 6 per cent, and the South-West, at 5.9 per cent, had the highest percentages of usual residents who used a second address, while the West Midlands, at 4.5 per cent, had the lowest.
The local authorities with the highest percentage of people who used a second address were Oxford, at 15.6 per cent, Cambridge, at 14.1 per cent, and Exeter, at 13.5 per cent.
The high percentage of people with second addresses likely reflects students with both a term-time address and a non-term-time address, the ONS said.
The data also showed across England and Wales, that 77.9 per cent, or 19.3 million households, were living in a house or bungalow, while 21.7 per cent, or 5.4 million, lived in flats, maisonettes or apartments, and 0.4 per cent, or 104,000, lived in a caravan, or other mobile or temporary structure, in 2021.
The proportion of households living in a flat, maisonette or apartment increased from 21 per cent, or 4.9 million households, in 2011.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
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What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
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- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
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- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
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THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
Indian: RP Singh
Punjabi Legends
UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
Rajputs
UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
Indian: Munaf Patel
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
THE SPECS
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 680Nm
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