Housing
in London
The evidence base for the London Housing Strategy
December 2012
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
Copyright
Greater London Authority
December 2012
Published by
Greater London Authority
City Hall, The Queen’s Walk
London SE1 2AA
www.london.gov.uk
enquiries 020 7983 4100
minicom 020 7983 4458
ISBN 978-1-84781-537-8
Cover image: Townsend Landscape Architects
Contributors credits
Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2012
All rights reserved Greater London Authority
Copies of this report are available from www.london.gov.uk
Housing in
London
The evidence base for the London Housing Strategy
December 2012
HOUSING IN L ONDON
Contents
introduction6
People7
PLACES31
APPENDICES 51
5
introduction
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
Housing in London is the evidence base for the
Mayor’s London Housing Strategy. The Mayor
formally adopted his London Housing Strategy
in February 2010 and in December 2011 he
consulted on proposals for a new Strategy.
Housing in London is divided into two sections,
reflecting the thematic chapters of the public
consultation draft of the new London Housing
Strategy:
People
This section covers demographic pressures,
housing affordability, the wider housing market,
mobility and housing need.
Places
This covers housing supply, empty homes, the
private rented sector, decent homes, accessible
housing, energy efficiency and fuel poverty
Three appendices follow. The first includes
general contextual and historical information
about housing in London, the second provides
notes and sources for each chart or map, and
the third briefly summarises available measures
of housing supply. All data in this document
was the latest available as of September/
October 2012.
This edition of Housing in London is the latest
in a series, with previous editions available
from the Greater London Authority website
(www.london.gov.uk).
Any comments on this edition or suggestions
for future versions are welcomed and should be
emailed to mayor@london.gov.uk.
.
7
people
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.01 London’s population rose to 8.2m in 2011, close to its previous peak
Trends in London’s individual and household
population, 1901 to 2011
10
5
9
8
4
7
6
3
5
4
2
3
2
•The 2011 Census revealed that London’s
population had grown by around a million in
the previous decade. The 2011 population of
8.2 million is second only to the 8.6 million
peak recorded in 1939.
•The increase in the last decade continues a
trend that began in the 1980s, after almost half
a century of declining population.
•The decade to 2011 also saw a rise in average
household size to 2.5, the first such rise in at
least a century.
1
1
0
1901
1921
1939
1961
1981
2001
0
Population (millions, left axis)
Households (millions, left axis)
Average household size (persons, right axis)
Source: GLA
1.02 Population growth was higher in London than in the rest of the country
in the last decade, but household growth was similar
Percentage growth in households and
population by region, 2001 to 2011
•London’s population grew by 12 per cent
between 2001 and 2011, compared to growth
of 6 per cent in the rest of England. Population
growth was slightly faster in Inner London (13
per cent) than in Outer London (11 per cent).
•Growth in the number of households in London
did not keep up with population growth,
particularly in Outer London where household
growth was just 6 per cent.
•In the rest of England the number of
households grew faster than the population
over the last decade, and the average
household size fell.
Percentage growth 2001 to 2011
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Inner
London
Outer
London
Population change
London
total
Rest of
London
Household change
Source: Office for National Statistics
9
1.03 London’s boroughs include those with the largest and the smallest average
household sizes in the country
Top and bottom English five local authorities by
average household size, 2011
•According to the 2011 Census, the four
local authorities with the largest average
household sizes in England are all in London,
with Newham well ahead at three people per
household and three Outer London boroughs
following behind.
•The three local authorities with the smallest
average household sizes are also in London.
The City of London has by far the smallest
households (1.6 people per household on
average) and Kensington and Chelsea and
Westminster are not far behind with an average
of two people per household each
Top five
Newham
Harrow
Redbridge
Brent
Slough
Bottom five
Isles of Scilly
Fylde
Westminster
Kens. & Chelsea
City of London
0
1
2
3
4
Average household size
London boroughs
Non-London
Source: Office for National Statistics
1.04 Future household growth is expected to be fuelled by a rise in the proportion of one
person households
Projections of household types in London,
2001 to 2031
1.80
•There are around 3.3 million households
in London, a figure that is expected to rise
sharply in coming years, although by how
much depends on the trends in population and
average household size already mentioned.
•According to the current household
projections, one person households are
expected to account for 68 per cent of overall
household growth from 2011 to 2031, to
outnumber couple households by 2016, and
to comprise 43 per cent of all households by
2026. The number of lone parent households is
also expected to grow
One person
Number of households (millions)
1.60
1.40
Couples
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
Lone parents
0.40
Other
0.20
0.00
2001
Source: GLA
2006
2011
2016
2021
2026
2031
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.05 London’s population grew by 115,000 between 2010 and 2011,
driven mostly by natural change
Components of population change in London,
2001-2 to 2010-11
•London’s population is estimated to have
grown by 115,000 between mid 2010 and mid
2011. Most of this growth was due to natural
change (births minus deaths), which has risen
from 47,000 between 2001 and 2002 to
86,500 between 2010 and 2011.
•Net in-migration accounted for the remainder
of population growth. Both net out-migration
to the rest of the UK and net in-migration from
the rest of the world fell sharply between 2008
and 2010, but net international in-migration
rose again between 2010 and 2011.
200
Number of people (000s)
150
100
50
-50
2010-11
2009-10
2008-09
2007-08
2006-07
2005-06
2004-05
2003-04
2002-03
-150
2001-02
-100
Net international migration
Net UK migration
Natural change
Source: Office for National Statistics
1.06 The last five decades have seen considerable change in London’s tenure mix
Long term trend in household tenure in London,
1961 to 2011
70
Percentage of all households
60
Owner
occupied
50
40
Social rented
30
20
Private
rented
10
0
1961
1971
1981
1991
Source: Office for National Statistics
2001
2011
•Census data shows that the proportion of
London households who own their home fell to
50 per cent in 2011 from a high of 57 per cent
in 2001, though it is still above the levels of the
1960s and 1970s.
•The proportion of households who live in social
housing peaked at 35 per cent in 1981 and has
since fallen to 24 per cent.
•The private rented sector was once the largest
tenure in London but shrank from 46 per cent
to 14 per cent of all households between 1961
and 1991. Since the 1990s it has grown to a
quarter of all households in London.
11
1.07 Owner occupier households comprise the majority in outer London but the
minority in inner London
Trend in household tenure in London (with
owner occupation split), 1993 to 2010/11
45
Owned with mortgage
Percentage of all households
40
35
30
Social rented
25
Owned outright
20
Private rented
15
10
5
•Owner occupiers who are still paying off a
mortgage account for all of the recent fall
in owner occupation. The share of London’s
households who are paying off a mortgage fell
from nearly 40 per cent in the mid 1990s to
just under 30 per cent in 2010/11.
•The proportion of households owning outright
has increased slightly over the entire period but
has been relatively stead in recent years, as has
the level of social renting.
•Over the last decade the size of the private
rented sector has risen by about ten
percentage points.
1
9
-1
10
-0
20
08
07
20
20
05
20
03
20
01
99
20
19
97
19
95
19
19
93
0
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
1.08 Owner occupier households comprise the majority in outer London but the
minority in inner London
Housing tenure of households by borough, 2011
150,000
75,000
15,000
Owned
Social rented
Private rented
Source: Office for National Statistics
•The proportion of households who own
their home ranges from just 26 per cent in
Hackney and 27 per cent in, Tower Hamlets
and Westminster to 73 per cent in Bexley and
74 per cent in Havering.
•Most of London’s social housing is
concentrated in inner boroughs, comprising
44 per cent of the local housing stock in both
Hackney and Tower Hamlets.
•Private renting households are also
concentrated towards the centre, with
Westminster the only borough where private
renting is the most common tenure.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.09 The three main tenures accommodate very different mixes of
households by income
London household income distribution by
tenure, 2008-11
•Around a third of households in social housing
in London have annual gross household
incomes off less than £10,000, and around
another third have incomes between £10,000
and £20,000.
•Households in the market tenures have a
much wider range of incomes, although the
private rented sector has a higher proportion
of households in low to middle incomes than
owner occupation.
•Around a tenth of owner occupying households
in London have annual incomes over £100,000,
compared to around 7 per cent of private
renting households.
700
Thousands of households
600
Owners
500
Private renters
400
Social renters
300
200
100
Over 100
90 to 100
80 to 90
70 to 80
60 to 70
50 to 60
40 to 50
30 to 40
20 to 30
10 to 20
0 to 10
0
Annual gross household income (£000s)
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
1.10 London has both more poor and more rich households than the rest of the
country, distributed unevenly by tenure
Distribution of London households by national
income quintile and tenure, 2010/11
900
Owners
800
Social renters
Households (000s)
700
Private renters
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Lowest
20%
Quintile 2
Quintile 3
Quintile 4
•London is a relatively unequal city, with
more than its share of households at both
the top and the bottom of the national
income distribution.
•Unsurprisingly, social rented and owner
occupied housing play very different roles,
with most of the poorest households in
social housing and most of the richest in
owner occupation.
•Private tenants, in contrast, are much more
evenly spread throughout the national
income distribution, reflecting the diversity
of the sector.
Highest
20%
National household income quintile
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
13
1.11 Most younger households rent their homes in the private sector, most older
ones are owner occupiers
Age of household reference person by tenure,
London 2010/11
•London has a relatively large number of
households headed by someone aged under
35, and over half of them are renting in the
private sector.
•The owner occupation rate increases with
age, so that two thirds of households headed
by someone aged 55 or over is in the owner
occupied sector.
•Social renting households are in the minority
throughout the age distribution, but there
are over four times as many older households
(those headed by someone aged 55 or over) in
social housing than there are in private rented
housing.
800
Number of households (000s)
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
16-24
25-34
Owners
35-44
45-54
Social renters
55-64 65 or over
Private renters
GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
1.12 Rates of employment and economic activity in London vary widely
between tenures
Employment status of household reference
person and partner by tenure, London 2010/11
Owners
Social
renters
•Across all tenures around three quarters of
London households include one or more people
in work, but this figure falls to just 39 per cent
in social housing.
•In both social housing and owner occupation
around a quarter of households include
retirees, compared to only five per cent of
households in the private rented sector.
Private
renters
All
tenures
0
20
40
60
80
Percentage of households by tenure
100
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
One or more work full time
One or more work part time
None working, one or more retired
None working and none retired
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.13 Private renting households are generally satisfied with their accommodation
but less happy about renting itself
Satisfaction by tenure with current
accommodation and current tenure, London
2010/11 (with confidence intervals)
•While owner occupiers are overwhelmingly
satisfied with their housing, tenants are
generally somewhat less satisfied with both
their current accommodation and their current
tenure.
•Around 80 per cent of private renting
households are satisfied with their current
home, but only around half are satisfied with
private renting itself. The pattern is very
different for council renting households, who
are more satisfied with their tenure than with
their own accommodation.
Percentage of households
100
80
60
40
20
0
Owner
occupied
Private
rented
Council
rented
Satisfied with accommodation
Housing
association
rented
Satisfied with current tenure
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
1.14 Most people in London would prefer to own their home, but preferences
differ between inner and outer London
Preferences for buying or renting, by region
•When asked if they would prefer to buy or
rent given a ‘free choice’, 77 per cent of inner
Londoners and 94 per cent of outer Londoners
say they would prefer to buy.
•Nationally, the preference to buy was highest
amongst home owners (95 per cent) and
lowest amongst social renters (58 per cent for
local authority and 61 per cent for housing
association tenants).
•Only 17 per cent of renters expect to buy a
home in the near future.
Inner London
East Midlands
North East
North West
South East
West Midlands
Yorks & Humber
East
South West
Outer London
0
20
40
60
80
100
Percentage of respondents
Would choose to buy
Would choose to rent
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
15
1.15 High housing costs are seen as one of the main downsides
to living in London
‘Major problems’ with quality of life in the
locality, as reported by Londoners, 2009 to 2011
Cost of housing
Traffic congestion
2009
2010
2011
Cost of living
(non-housing)
Unemployment
Fear of crime
•The cost of housing in London has consistently
been among the problems most cited by
Londoners as one of the worst things about
living in the capital.
•In 2011, 24 per cent of respondents described
the cost of housing as a ‘major problem’ with
the quality of life in their area, up from 22 per
cent in 2010 and 14 per cent in 2009.
•The next biggest problems were traffic
congestion (22 per cent of respondents) and
the non-housing cost of living (17 per cent).
Fear of attack
0
10
20
30
Percentage of respondents
Source: GLA
1.16 The burden of housing costs is higher for renting households,
though ameliorated by benefits
Median housing costs as % of income
Median of housing costs as a share of gross
household income in London, by tenure and
income definition
50
40
30
20
10
0
Household
head and
partner only
All
household
members
Including benefits
Social renters
Household
head and
partner only
All
household
members
Excluding benefits
Private renters
•The burden of housing costs varies by tenure
and by whether you count just the income of
the household head and partner or include
other household members too. Taking incomes
of all household members into account makes
a big difference for private renting households,
due to the number of multi-adult households
in the sector.
•Benefits have the greatest impact on social
housing tenants, reducing their costs from
40 to 30 per cent of income.
•On any definition, owner occupiers paying off a
mortgage have the lowest average housing cost
burden (those who already own their home
outright are excluded).
Owner occupiers
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.17 Average house prices vary widely across London
Median house price by Middle Super Output
Area, 2012
•While prices paid by first time buyers in London
recovered quickly from the dip in 2008-9 and
are now well above their previous peak, the
average mortgage advance is no higher than in
2007.
•Deposits have had to rise to fill the gap, on
average roughly doubling from pre-recession
levels.
Median price (£000s)
0 – 250
250 – 350
350 – 475
475 – 700
700 – 1,000
1,000 – 2,175
Source: GLA, Land Registry
1.18 Homes in conservation areas in London command a 37 per cent price premium
over other homes in the region
Mean price per square metre of sales within
and outside conservation areas by region,
1995-2010
Price per square metre
3,000
2,500
Inside conservation area
Outside conservation area
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
Ea Nor
st the
M rn
i
No dlan
Yo
d
rk rth W s
s&
e
W Hu st
es m
t M be
id r
Ea land
st
s
A
Ou Sou ngli
a
t
Ou ter h W
te Sou es
r M th t
et Ea
ro st
po
lit
Lo an
nd
on
0
Source: English Heritage, London School of Economics
•Between 1995 and 2010 twelve per cent of
homes sold in London were in conservation
areas, and they sold for an average of £2,710
per square metre compared to an average
£1,975 per square metre for homes outside
conservation areas.
•This conservation area ‘premium’ of 37 per cent
in London is by far the largest of any region in
England, with the North West’s premium of 21
per cent the next highest.
17
1.19 After a relatively modest fall, London’s house prices are back on their
long-term trend of real-term growth
Index of mix-adjusted average house prices in
London, 1969 to 2012, adjusted for inflation,
(1990 =100)
250
House price index
Fitted exponential trend
200
150
•Average London house prices, adjusted for
inflation, have increased more than fourfold
since the late 1960s, following an exponential
growth path over the long term.
•London’s average house price fell by 16 per
cent in real terms between mid 2007 and mid
2009, but that was only enough to return
prices to their long term trend. Since mid 2009
prices have increased 12 per cent in real terms.
100
50
09
20
04
20
99
19
19
94
89
19
84
19
79
19
74
19
19
69
0
Source: GLA, Office for National Statistics
1.20 After lagging behind in recent years, new house prices in London have
recently overtaken those of second hand homes.
Annualised change in mix-adjusted average
prices for new and second hand homes, London
30
New homes
25
Pre-owned homes
20
15
10
5
0
-5
2006
2007
2008
2009
-10
-15
-20
-25
Source: Office for National Statistics
2010
2011
2012
•Average prices for new homes in London
recovered strongly from their 2008-9 dip,
growing by an annualised rate of over ten per
cent for most of the last two years. In quarter
3 of 2012 annualised growth in new home
prices dipped to three per cent.
•Prices of pre-owned homes saw more modest
growth in recent years, though in the last
quarter the annualised rate of growth rose
above that of new homes for the first time in
two years.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.21 London’s house prices seem increasingly detached from those in
the rest of the country
Ratio of prices in London and wider South East
to UK average
2.00
1.50
1.00
•According to Nationwide the average house
price in London in Q3 2012 was 1.84 times the
average price in the UK as a whole.
•This ratio tends to follow a cyclical path,
but whereas in the past London’s prices
were usually aligned with those in the outer
metropolitan region and the rest of the South
East, in the last few years London’s prices have
grown faster than anywhere else in the country.
London
Outer Met
Rest of South East
0.50
09
20
04
20
99
19
94
19
89
19
84
19
79
19
19
74
0.00
Source: Nationwide
1.22 Median house prices rose to 8.5 times median earnings in London in 2011
Ratio of median house prices to median
earnings, 1997 to 2011
•The diverging price trends in London and the
rest of the country are reflected in the ratio
of median prices to median earnings, a simple
measure of housing affordability.
•In England as a whole the ratio has fallen (and
therefore affordability has improved) back to
the levels of 2004, but in London the ratio rose
to a new peak of 8.5 in 2011 as price increases
again outstripped growth in earnings.
10
London
8
England
6
4
2
0
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
19
1.23 Mortgage lending in London has been relatively flat for more than two years
Quarterly number of mortgage loans by type,
London
•According to figures from the Council of
Mortgage Lenders there were around 20,500
new mortgage loans in London in Q3 2012, 21
per cent up on the previous quarter but only
four per cent up on the same period last year.
•Some quarterly volatility aside, the overall level
of new mortgage lending in London has been
relatively flat in recent years and remains well
below pre-recession levels.
•New mortgages in London are split relatively
evenly between home movers and first time
buyers.
Thousands of new loans
25
20
Home movers
First time buyers
15
10
5
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Source: Council of Mortgage Lenders
1.24 Deposit requirements for house purchase remain very high
15
5
0
0
Deposit as % of purchase price (median)
Deposit as % of purchase price (median)
10
England
30
London
15
South East
45
South West
20
East Anglia
60
West Midlands
25
East Midlands
75
North West
30
Yorks & Humber
90
North
Average first time buyer deposit (£000s)
First time buyer deposit requirements by
region, 2011
•The typical first time buyer in London was
required to put down a 25 per cent deposit
in 2011, significantly more than in any other
region.
•Given that the median price paid by first time
buyers was around £300,000, this implies a
typical deposit level of £75,000 in London,
twice as high as the national average.
•Note that ‘First time buyers’ are defined as
anyone not currently owning at the time of
purchase, so it can include those who have
previously owned.
Average first time buyer deposit (£000s)
Source: GLA, Council of Mortgage Lenders and Office for National Statistics
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.25 While deposit requirements are very high, low interest rates have reduced
average first time buyer mortgage repayments
Trend in median deposit requirement and
mortgage repayments as a share of income for
first time buyers in London
30
Mortgage repayments as % of income (median)
25
20
15
Deposit required (median)
•The typical first time buyer mortgage changed
dramatically in 2008, with average deposit
requirements climbing to 25 per cent and low
interest rates bringing mortgage repayment
costs (comprising both capital and interest
payments) down to just over 20 per cent of
income on average.
•These two trends mean that owner occupation
has become much more expensive to access
but somewhat less expensive to maintain.
10
2012
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
0
2011
5
Source: Council of Mortgage Lenders
1.26 Around 6 per cent of recent home buyers in London are estimated to be in
negative equity, down from 13 per cent last year
Estimates of negative equity by broad region,
2011 and 2012
2011
21.5%
2012
15.5%
13.0%
14.3%
8.1%
8.0%
North
Midlands
6.0%
5.6%
London
Rest of South
Source: Council of Mortgage Lenders
•The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates
that 6 per cent of mortgages advanced in
London since 2005 are currently in negative
equity.
•This figure is down more than half from
the CML’s estimate of 13 per cent in 2011.
Negative equity rates in the South of England
are well below those in the North due to the
much higher house price drops in the latter.
21
1.27 Mortgage possession orders in London are falling but landlord possession
orders are rising
Mortgage and landlord possession orders made
in London
Possession orders (thousands)
35
30
Landlord
25
20
15
Mortgage
10
•The number of mortgage possession orders
granted in London rose in the last recession,
albeit not to anything like the levels seen
in the early 1990s. Low interest rates and
forbearance by lenders have since reduced the
number of orders to 6,500 2011, the lowest
figure since 2003.
•However the number of orders granted to
private and social landlords for possession of
their properties has risen in the last two years,
from 22,500 in 2009 to 27,100 in 2011.
5
0
1987
1991
1995
1999
2003
2007
2011
Source: Ministry of Justice
1.28 Home sales in London are running at about half of their pre-recession levels
Quarterly Land Registry sales in London
(four quarter moving average)
•There were a total of 92,000 home sales in
London over the twelve months to Q2 2012, an
average of 23,000 a quarter.
•While the level of sales in London has picked
up from its trough of just over 10,000 in Q1
2009, it is still only around half of pre-recession
levels, which on average saw around 40,000
sales a quarter and 160,000 in a year.
Sales per quarter (000s)
50
40
30
20
10
20
11
20
09
20
07
20
05
20
03
20
01
19
99
19
97
0
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government, Council of Mortgage Lenders
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.29 Most population churn in London takes place through the private rented sector
Length of time at current home by tenure,
London 2008-11
•Eleven per cent of households in London have
lived in their current home less than one year,
but this figure varies from three per cent of
owner occupiers to seven per cent of social
renters and 32 per cent of private renters.
•Private tenants account for 23 per cent of all
households in London but two thirds of recent
moves in 2008-11.
•The number of moves into or within owner
occupation has fallen in recent years, primarily
due to ongoing restrictions on mortgage
lending.
Percentage of households in tenure
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
<1
year
1
year
2
years
Owners
3-4
years
5-9
years
10-19 20-29
years years
Social renters
30+
years
Private renters
Source: GLA and Department for Communities and Local Government
1.30 The Seaside & Country Homes scheme frees up around 200 social rented
homes in London a year
Moves per year under the Seaside & Country
Homes scheme
250
200
150
100
50
Source: GLA
20
11
/1
2
1
/1
10
20
0
20
09
/1
9
/0
08
20
20
07
/0
8
0
•The Seaside & Country Homes scheme
offers older London social housing tenants
the opportunity to move to suitable
accommodation in other regions.
•Between 2007/08 and 2011/12 a total of
1,028 council and housing association tenants
in London took advantage of the scheme to
move out.
•Tenants who are underoccupying their current
homes are given priority in the scheme. In
the last three years alone a total of 1,473
bedrooms were freed up in London as a result
of the scheme.
23
1.31 Many council homes in London have been freed up through the Seaside &
Country Homes scheme, particularly in east London
Social rented homes freed up through Seaside &
Country Homes scheme moves since 2007/08
•Since 2007 1,133 council and housing
association homes have been freed up in
London after the tenants moved out through
the Seaside & Country Homes scheme.
•The number of homes freed up through the
scheme varies widely by borough, from two
in Brent and the City of London to 85 in
Southwark and 97 in Greenwich.
0–5
5 – 30
30 – 50
50 – 70
70 – 97
Source: GLA
1.32 Most moves into social housing in London are local
Origin of moves into housing association homes
in London, 2011/12
16%
1%
•Of the 17,900 households recorded as moving
into housing association homes in London in
2011/12, the great majority (83 per cent) came
from within the same London borough as their
new home.
•17 per cent came from elsewhere in London
and just one per cent from outside London.
83%
Within borough
From elsewhere within London
From outside London
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.33 Around 740,000 households in London are underoccupying their homes,
most of them owner occupiers
Underoccupation by tenure in London, 2008-11
45
Percentage of households
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Owner
occupied
Social
rented
Private
rented
•Underoccupied households are those with
two or more bedrooms more than they require
according to the bedroom standard.
•There are around 740,000 underoccupied
households in London, a quarter of all
households in the capital. Around 84 per cent
of these are owner occupiers.
•There are an estimated 50,000 underoccupied
households in social rented housing, which has
the lowest rate of underoccupation at seven
per cent, compared to ten per cent of private
renting and 38 per cent of owner occupying
households.
All
tenures
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
1.34 The number of households accepted as statutorily homeless increased last
year but remains low by recent standards
35
30
30
25
25
20
20
15
15
10
10
10
/
9
20
8/
0
20
0
6/
0
5
20
0
4/
0
20
0
2/
0
20
0
0/
0
20
0
8/
9
19
9
11
0
7
0
3
5
1
5
London as % of England
35
9
London total (000s)
Homeless households in priority need accepted
by London boroughs, 1998/1999 to 2011/12
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
•The number of households accepted as
statutorily homeless in London fell by almost
60 per cent between 2004/05 and 2009/10,
largely as a result of boroughs’ efforts to
prevent or address homelessness.
•In 2011/12 the number of acceptances rose to
12,730, up from 9,460 in 2009/10 but still well
below the peak of 30,080 in 2003/04.
•Homeless acceptances in London have
comprised between 20 and 25 per cent of the
national total for the last several years.
25
1.35 London boroughs prevented or relieved homelessness for 29,900
households in the last year
Homelessness prevention and relief in London,
2009/10 to 2011/12
2009/
10
2010/
11
2011/
12
0
10
20
30
Number of cases (000s)
Relief of homelessness
40
•Homelessness prevention means helping
people avoid homelessness by obtaining
other accommodation or remaining in their
current home, while homelessness relief
refers to cases where a homeless household
is helped to secure accommodation without
being accepted as statutorily homeless.
•In 2011/12 London boroughs prevented
homelessness in 26,000 cases and relieved
homelessness in 3,900 cases, for a total of
29,900.
•This total was down slightly from 32,500 in
2009/10 and 32,900 in 2010/11.
Helped obtain other housing
Helped remain in current home
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
1.36 Ethnic minority households are disproportionately likely to become homeless
Homeless acceptances in London by ethnicity of
household head, 2011/12
London
population
2001
66
Homeless
acceptances
in London
2011/12
36
0
14
37
50
Percentage of total
15
12
5
•Households from ethnic minority groups are
disproportionately likely to become statutorily
homeless, reflecting in part greater exposure
to risk factors such as poverty, deprivation
and overcrowding.
•Black or Black British households comprised
14 per cent of the general population in
2001, but 37 per cent of those accepted as
homeless in 2011/12.
15
100
White
Black or Black British
Asian or Asian British
Mixed or other ethnic origin
Source: Office for National Statistics, Department for Communities and Local Government
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.37 The number of homeless households in temporary accommodation has grown
recently but remains low in historic terms
Homeless households placed in different forms
of temporary accommodation by London
boroughs, 1999 to 2012
Number of households (000s)
70
60
50
40
30
•In mid 2012 there were 37,190 homeless
households living in temporary accommodation
in London. This represents an increase of 1,570
on the year before, but is 26,630 lower than
the peak of 63,820 households in late 2005.
•Most homeless households are living in homes
leased by London boroughs from private sector
landlords. The number in bed and breakfast
accommodation has risen in the last year but
remains low at six per cent of the total.
20
10
11
20
09
20
07
20
05
20
03
20
01
20
19
99
0
Other, including social housing stock
Leased from private sector
Hostels and women's refuges
Bed and breakfast and shared
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
1.38 Average lengths of stay in temporary accommodation are coming down again
Length of stay of households leaving
temporary accommodation in London,
1998/99 to 2010/12
•2011/12 saw an improvement in waiting
times for those in temporary accommodation
in London, with a third leaving temporary
accommodation after less than six months, up
from twenty per cent in 2009/10.
•The proportion waiting wait two years or more
to leave temporary accommodation has fallen
to 37 per cent, from 50 per cent in 2009/10.
•12,590 households left temporary
accommodation in 2011/12, down from
16,120 in 2009/10, suggesting that it is the
reduced inflow which is reducing waiting times.
80
60
40
Over 2 years
1 year to 2 years
2010/11
2008/09
2006/07
2004/05
2002/03
0
2000/01
20
1998/99
Percentage of total
100
6 months to 1 year
20
10
/1
1
20
08
/0
9
20
06
/0
7
05
20
04
/
20
02
/0
3
19
98
/9
9
20
00
/0
1
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
Under 6 months
27
1.39 Turnover in social housing has slowed, with fewer tenancies
becoming available
Social housing lettings in London as a
proportion of total stock, 1997/98 to 2010/11
12
Housing association
10
8
Council
6
•Turnover in London’s social housing has
fallen since the late 1990s, with lettings as a
percentage of stock falling to six per cent in
council housing and eight per cent in housing
association homes.
•Reasons for the fall in turnover include longer
life expectancies and the high cost of market
housing making it harder for tenants who want
to move out to do so.
4
2
0
8
/1
09
20
/0
20
07
6
/0
05
4
/0
03
20
20
2
01
/0
0
20
/0
99
19
19
97
/9
8
0
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
1.40 The number of people seen sleeping rough in London over the course of the
year has risen substantially
People seen sleeping rough in London, 2005/06
to 2011/12
6,000
Returner
Stock
Flow
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2005/06
Source: Broadway
2007/08
2009/10
2011/12
•Outreach teams counted 5,678 people sleeping
rough in London over the course of 2011/12,
up 43 per cent from 2010/11.
•People who sleep rough can be broadly
categorised as ‘flow’ (those new to the
streets), ‘stock’ (people sleeping rough both
this year and last year) and ‘returners’ (those
not previously seen sleeping rough for over
a year). Two thirds of those recorded in this
period were new to the streets and this group
accounted for most of the rise since 2010/11.
•Rough sleeping is concentrated in a few
boroughs, with more than half found in
Westminster alone.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.41 The proportion of new rough sleepers who spend just one night on the streets
has risen for the past three years
Number of contacts with people seen sleeping
rough for the first time
4,500
4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
•Of the 3,825 people seen sleeping rough in
London for the first time in 2011/12, 70 per
cent were seen just once. This figure has risen
for each of the last three years, largely as a
result of efforts under the Mayor’s ‘No Second
Night Out’ scheme to ensure that nobody
spends more than one night on the streets.
•Three per cent (124) of the people seen
sleeping rough for the first time in London
went on to be seen eleven more times.
1,500
1,000
500
0
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
Eleven or more
Six to ten
Three to five
Two
One
Source: Broadway
1.42 Just under half of rough sleepers are UK nationals
Nationality of rough sleepers in London,
2008/09 to 2011/12
•For the second year running over half of those
seen sleeping rough in London in 2011/12
were non-UK nationals, while 47 per cent were
from the UK.
•28 per cent came from Poland and other
Central and Eastern European Countries, eleven
per cent from other European countries such as
Ireland and Portugal, six per cent from Africa,
six per cent from Asia and two per cent from
America or Australasia.
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
Source: Broadway
2
/1
11
20
1
/1
10
20
0
/1
09
20
20
08
/0
9
0
UK
Central/Eastern Europe
Rest of world
Other Europe
29
1.43 The majority of rough sleepers need support to deal with addiction
or mental health problems
Support needs of rough sleepers in London,
2011/12
17%
Alcohol
7%
12%
•The support needs of a third of rough sleepers
seen in 2011/12 are not known or have yet to
be assessed, but 76 per cent of those assessed
need support to deal with alcohol, drug or
mental health problems, with alcohol problems
the most common.
•35 per cent of those assessed have support
needs in two or more categories, with eleven
per cent having support needs in all three.
11%
6%
Mental health
5%
15%
Drugs
None: 24%
Source: Broadway
1.44 Overcrowding in London is rising again, after falling throughout most
of the 20th century
Household overcrowding rate in London,
1931 to 2001
•In 1931 a quarter of households in London was
considered overcrowded (in that they had more
than one person per room), a figure which fell
to four per cent in 1991.
•But in the 1990s the trend was reversed,
with overcrowding rising to five per cent
of households in 2001. Inner London has
consistently had higher rates of overcrowding
than Outer London.
•Results from the 2011 Census were not yet
available at the time of writing
35
Inner London
London
Outer London
Percentage of households
30
25
20
15
10
5
01
20
91
19
81
19
71
19
61
19
51
19
41
19
19
31
0
Source: Great Britain Historical GIS Project, Office for National Statistics
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.45 Social housing has seen the biggest rise in overcrowding in recent years
Household overcrowding rate by tenure,
1995-98 to 2008-11
Percentage of households
18
16
14
Social renters
12
10
Private renters
8
6
All tenures
4
2
•Around 260,000 households are overcrowded
in London, comprising roughly 125,000 in
social housing, 90,000 private renters and
45,000 owner occupiers.
•In recent years the overcrowding rate has
grown most rapidly in social housing and now
stands at 17 per cent.
•12 per cent of private renting households
and three per cent of owner occupiers are
overcrowded, compared to eight per cent
across all tenures.
Owner occupiers
-1
0
07
20
-0
8
05
20
-0
6
20
03
-0
4
01
20
-0
2
19
99
-0
0
97
19
19
95
-9
8
0
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
1.46 Around 35,000 households in London are severely overcrowded
Overcrowding and severe overcrowding in
London by tenure, 2008-11
18
Percentage of households
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Owner
occupied
Social
rented
Severely overcrowded
Private
rented
All
tenures
All overcrowded
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
•Households with two or more bedrooms
less than they need are defined as severely
overcrowded.
•Around 17,000 households in social housing
are severely overcrowded, compared to 12,000
in the private rented sector and 6,000 in owner
occupation.
•Around two per cent of both social rented
and private rented households are severely
overcrowded, compared to around half a per
cent of owner occupied households.
31
PLACES
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.01 New housebuilding in London is lower than in the 1960s and 70s but higher
than in the 80s and 90s
Gross new house building in London by tenure,
1961 to 2011/12
•Government statistics show an increase in
average annual housebuilding in London from
around 15,000 homes in the 1990s to around
20,000 in the last decade.
•New council housing supply has risen from
the low tens to the low hundreds, but is
still dwarfed by new private and housing
association supply.
•While providing a useful historical trend, these
figures cover new building only and exclude
conversions and changes of use. They therefore
tend to under-estimate total housing provision
in London.
30
20
Local Authorities
2010/11
2005/06
2000/01
1995/96
1990/91
1986
1981
1966
1961
0
1976
10
1971
Number of homes (000s)
40
Housing Association and other public sector
Private sector
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
2.02 Affordable housing delivery in London increased in 2011/12 to the highest
total for at least twenty years
Affordable housing delivery in London,
1991/92 to 2011/12 (including acquisitions)
Thousands of homes
20
15
10
5
Intermediate
2
0
/1
11
20
/1
8
09
20
/0
6
07
20
/0
4
20
05
2
/0
03
20
20
/0
0
Affordable Rent
01
8
/0
/9
19
99
6
/9
19
97
4
/9
95
19
93
19
19
91
/9
2
0
Social rent
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
•According to government statistics the
number of affordable homes delivered in
London in 2011/12 rose to 17,240, the
highest figure in at least twenty years (just
above 17,150 in 1995/96) and the fourth
annual increase in a row.
•Two thirds of the homes delivered were
for social rent, the highest proportion
since 2001/02. Just over a hundred were
Affordable Rent and the remainder were
Intermediate.
•These figures include homes not funded
by the GLA (or formerly the Homes and
Communities Agency), as well as a small
number of ‘Assisted Purchase’ sales, neither
of which are included in the GLA’s own
affordable housing statistics.
33
2.03 Newly built homes comprised the vast majority of affordable
housing delivery in 2011/12
New build completions as a proportion of
affordable housing delivery in London, by tenure
100
80
60
Social rent
40
Intermediate
20
•The government’s official statistics indicate
that newly built homes comprised 93 per cent
of affordable housing delivered in London in
2011/12, with the rest consisting of existing
homes added to the stock of affordable
housing through acquisitions.
•New build has made up the majority of social
rent delivery since at least the early 1990s,
but until 2006/07 most intermediate housing
delivery was in the form of acquisitions, either
by housing associations or by households
buying on the open market.
2
0
/1
11
20
8
/1
09
20
6
/0
07
20
4
/0
05
20
2
/0
03
20
0
/0
01
20
8
/0
99
19
6
/9
97
19
4
/9
95
19
/9
93
19
19
91
/9
2
0
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
2.04 Affordable housing delivery in the last four years varied widely by borough
Affordable housing delivery in London by tenure
and by borough, 2008/09 to 2011/12
6,300
3,150
630
Social rent
Intermediate
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
•Of the 57,800 affordable homes delivered in
London in the last four years (again, as defined
by government statistics), the borough with by
far the highest share was Tower Hamlets with
6,300, followed by Hackney at 3,970.
•The lowest borough totals were in the City of
London (20 homes), Kensington and Chelsea
(280) and Kingston upon Thames (320).
•The proportion of total delivery that comprised
social rented housing varied from 0 per cent in
the City and 22 per cent in Wandsworth to 71
per cent in Waltham Forest and 75 per cent in
Kensington and Chelsea.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.05 While completions rose in 2011/12, affordable housing starts fell sharply
Affordable housing starts and completions in
London funded by the GLA and HCA, 2008/09
to 2011/12
18
Non-new build
Number of homes (000s)
16
New build
14
12
10
8
6
4
Starts
2011/12
2010/11
2009/10
2008/09
2011/12
2010/11
2009/10
0
2008/09
2
•The number of affordable housing starts
funded by the GLA (and formerly the HCA)
in London rose by 5,000 between 2008/09
and 2010/11, but fell sharply to 4,290 in
2011/12. The drop was largely due to the
transition to a new funding programme for
affordable housing.
•Completions funded by the GLA rose to
16,170 in 2011/12, up from 12,870 in
2010/11.
•These figures exclude homes not funded by
the GLA or HCA but which are included in
charts 2.02 to 2.04.
Completions
Source: GLA, Homes and Communities Agency
2.06 While affordable housing supply has risen, sales of social housing through
the Right to Buy remain very low
Affordable housing supply and Right to Buy
sales in London, 1981 to 2011/12
30
Number of sales (000s)
25
20
15
10
5
1
/1
10
20
6
1
/0
05
20
/0
00
20
6
/9
95
19
1
/9
19
90
86
19
19
81
0
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
•Between 1981 and 2004/05 the average
number of social rented homes sold each
through the Right to Buy in London was
11,270, but following the introduction
of restrictions in 2005 sales fell to a few
hundred a year.
•In 2011/12 just 290 council homes in
London were sold under the Right to Buy,
and another 140 housing association homes
were sold through the Right to Buy and Right
to Acquire.
•The present government has loosened
restrictions on the Right to Buy but these
have yet to translate into substantially higher
sales in London.
35
2.07 The net number of new homes completed in London dipped in 2010/11
before rebounding in 2011/12
Net conventional housing supply in London,
1990 to 2011/12
•GLA estimates of new housing supply are based
on data reported by London boroughs and take
into account conversions and changes of use
as well as new build. This measure of housing
supply also takes account of homes demolished
or replaced through redevelopment
•Data from the London Development
Database (2003/04 onwards) shows that net
conventional housing supply (which includes
new build and supply from conversions or
changes of use) fell from 29,440 in 2008/09
to 17,980 in 2010/11 before rising again to
24,870 in 2011/12.
35
Number of homes (000s)
30
25
20
15
10
Housing Provision Survey
5
London Development Database
2010/11
2008/09
2006/07
2003
2004/05
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
0
Source: GLA, Department of Communities and Local Government
2.08 New housing supply has recovered far more quickly in London than
in the rest of England
300
25
250
20
200
15
150
10
100
0
/1
10
20
/0
08
20
/0
06
20
/0
04
20
1
0
9
50
7
5
Rest of England net additions (000s)
30
5
London net additions (000s)
Department for Communities and Local
Government, Net supply of housing: 2011/12,
England
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
•Net conventional housing supply in London
recovered in 2011/12 to 24,870, up 39 per
cent from 2010/11 and twelve per cent
below its peak in 2008/09.
•Supply in the rest of England has yet to
recover much of its drop following a peak
of 179,800 in 2007/08. Net conventional
completions were 110,030 in 2011/12, up six
per cent from 2010/11 but still 39 per cent
down from their peak.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.09 Most new housing supply is concentrated in inner London
Net conventional housing supply by borough
and tenure, 2007/08 to 2010/11
9,300
4,650
930
•Net conventional housing supply in London
in the four years 2007/08 to 2010/11
totalled just over 100,000.
•During this period new housing supply was
concentrated in Inner London, particularly in
Tower Hamlets (9,270 new homes), Islington
(6,160) and Hackney (5,620). The lowest
level of new supply was in the City of London
(330 new homes), followed by Kingston upon
Thames with 870.
•Across London 37 per cent of new supply was
affordable and 19 per cent for social rent.
The affordable share varied from one per
cent in the City and 16 per cent in Redbridge
to 52 per cent in Brent.
Market
Intermediate
Social
Source: GLA
2.10 The proportion of family sized homes has increased sharply in
the last three years
Family sized homes as a proportion of new build
completions in London, 1991/92 to 2011/12
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
Housing associations
5
2
0
/1
11
20
8
/1
09
6
/0
20
07
4
/0
20
05
/0
20
2
0
/0
03
20
01
20
/0
99
6
/9
19
97
4
/9
19
95
/9
19
2
/9
93
19
91
19
8
Private
0
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
•The supply of new homes with three or more
bedrooms in London fell as a proportion of
total supply from 35 per cent in 1996/97 to
just 12 per cent in 2008/09, but has since risen
to 23 per cent in 2011/12.
•The proportion of family sized homes rose
from 11 per cent in 2008/09 to 22 per cent in
2011/12 in the private sector, while for homes
built by housing associations the proportion of
family sized homes rose from 13 to 26 per cent.
37
2.11 Just over half of all homes in London are flats now, after they accounted for
most of the growth over the last decade
Percentage of total
Mix of housing types in London in 2001
and 2011
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Share of stock
2001
Share of stock,
2011
•Houses (including bungalows) accounted for
52 per cent of London’s housing in 2001 and
flats (including maisonettes and apartments)
the remaining 48 per cent.
•By the time of the 2011 Census the pattern
had reversed with flats comprising 52 per cent
and houses 48 per cent.
•Between 2001 and 2011 flats accounted for 84
per cent of the growth in housing in London.
Share of stock change,
2001-11
Houses or bungalows
Flats, maisonettes and apartments
Source: Office for National Statistics
2.12 New homes tend to be built at much higher densities in London than
in other regions
Average density of new homes built by region
(dwellings per hectare)
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
2000
h
ut
So
ut
h
Ea
W
es
t
st
n
do
So
d
Lo
n
lan
ds
ng
fE
st
o
Ea
W
es
t
M
id
an
id
l
2005
lan
ds
r
be
m
st
M
Ea
Hu
W
es
t
Yo
rk
s
&
rth
No
No
rth
Ea
st
0
2010
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
•New homes in London were built at an average
density of 120 dwellings per hectare in 2010,
compared with a national average of 43.
•The average density more than doubled in
London between 2000 and 2010, the largest
regional increase in both proportional and
relative terms.
•In every other region the average density of
new homes in 2010 was between 34 and 41
dwellings per hectare.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.13 Net planning permissions for new homes in London have averaged around
45,000 over the last three years
Trend in net conventional housing approvals
in London.
•The number of net new planning permissions
for new homes in London averaged around
52,000 between 2003/04 and 2006/07 and
then spiked to 80,200 in 2007/08, just before
the credit crunch and subsequent recession.
•Planning permissions fell sharply from their
peak in 2007/08 but in the last three years
have not been far below the 2003/04 to
2006/07 average, with an average of 45,000
net new approvals in 2008/09 to 2010/11
90
Number of approvals (000s)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
1
0
/1
10
20
/1
9
/0
09
20
08
/0
8
20
7
/0
07
20
6
06
20
/0
5
/0
05
20
04
20
20
03
/0
4
0
Source: GLA
2.14 There are around 170,000 homes in the planning pipeline, with the largest
numbers in inner east London
Net conventional homes not started or under
construction by borough, March 2010.
24,000
12,000
2,400
Source: GLA
Not started
Under construction
•There are 170,460 homes in London with
outstanding planning permission, of which 53
percent are under construction and 47 per cent
not yet started.
•A a third of this pipeline is in three east
London boroughs: Greenwich (with 23,080
homes), Tower Hamlets (19,490) and Newham
(12,370).
•The smallest pipeline is in the City of London
(530 homes), followed by Kingston upon
Thames (1,230 homes) and Sutton (1,250).
39
2.15 In Inner London more people support new housing supply than oppose it,
while the opposite is true in Outer London
Support and opposition for more homes being
built in the local area, by region.
Inner London
North East
West Midlands
South West
East Midlands
North West
•Support for or opposition to more homes being
built in the local area varies widely between
regions and particularly so within London.
•In Outer London nearly 60 per cent of
respondents say they would oppose more
homes being built in their area, while Inner
London is the only part of the country where
support for new housing supply is substantially
higher than opposition.
South East
Yorks & Humber
East
Outer London
0
50
Percentage of respondents
Support
Neither
Oppose
100
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
2.16 Just over two per cent of homes in London are empty, the lowest
figure on record
Empty properties as a proportion of all homes in
London and England, 1991 to 2011.
6
Percentage of homes
5
4
3
2
England
1
•The housing crash of the early 1990s was
marked by a peak in empty homes at 5.3 per
cent of all homes in London. Since then the
rate of empty homes has fallen much faster in
London than in England as a whole.
•The proportion of homes standing empty in
London was 2.3 per cent, down from 2.4 per
cent in 2010 and the lowest figure for at least
the last twenty years.
•The proportion of homes in London which have
been empty for more than six months is lower
still, at less than one per cent.
London
11
09
07
20
20
05
20
03
20
01
20
99
20
19
97
19
95
19
93
19
19
91
0
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.17 Inner London boroughs tend to have higher rates of empty homes
Empty homes by borough, 2011
1.2 – 1.5
1.5 – 2.0
2.0 – 2.5
•Empty homes are scattered unevenly across
London, the rate depending on factors
including the quality of the local housing
stock, the strength of the housing market, the
progress of major regeneration schemes and
the effectiveness of efforts to bring empty
homes back into use.
•Inner London boroughs tend to have higher
rates of empty homes, with Westminster the
highest at 3.4 per cent of total stock, although
Wandsworth, its neighbour across the river, had
the lowest reported rate at 1.2 per cent.
2.5 – 3.0
3.0 – 3.5
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
2.18 London has a relatively low proportion of empty homes in comparison
with other regions
Empty properties as a proportion of all homes,
by tenure and region, 2011
Percentage of homes empty
6
5
4
3
2
1
st
d
h
ut
So
h
Ea
lan
ng
ut
So
W
W
es
t M est
id
lan
Ea
ds
st
M
id
lan
ds
Yo No
r
rk
s a th E
as
nd
Hu t
m
be
No
r
rth
W
e
En st
gl
an
d
Ea
st
of
E
Lo
n
do
n
0
•London has the lowest overall rate of empty
homes of any region in England, primarily
due to a relatively low rate of vacancy in
the private sector, where 2.4 per cent of
homes are empty compared to 3.5 per cent in
England as a whole.
•Although the rate of vacancy in council
and housing association homes is lower
than in the private sector (1.8 and 1.3 per
cent respectively), in both cases the rate in
London is slightly higher than the rate in
England as a whole.
Private sector
All tenures
Council
Department for Communities and Local Government
Housing association
41
2.19 More than half of the second homes recorded in London are located
in six boroughs
Number of dwellings recorded as second homes
for council tax purposes, 2012
Kensington
& Chelsea
7,474
Westminster
7,436
Others
25,704
•In 2012 there were 53,150 homes in London
recorded as second homes for council tax
purposes, 1.6 per cent of all homes in London.
•By far the most second homes were recorded
in Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster,
which accounted for a quarter of the London
total between them.
•Three more boroughs (Tower Hamlets, Camden
and Barnet) accounted for a further quarter
of the London total, with the remaining 27
boroughs accounting for less than half.
Tower
Hamlets
5,025
Barnet
2,678
Camden
4,836
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
2.20 Average private rents vary widely across London
Median monthly rent for a two bedroom home
by London borough, year to June 2012
0-950
950-1,050
1,050-1,265
Source: Valuation Office Agency
1,265-1,500
•The highest average private sector rents
in London are found in north and west
Inner London.
•Rents are generally lower in outer London,
particularly in the east and south.
•The median monthly rent for a two bedroom
property ranges from £800 in Bexley to
£2,600 in Kensington and Chelsea. The
median monthly rent is £1,520 in Inner
London, £1,080 in Outer London and £1,230
in London as a whole.
1,500-2,600
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.21 Average rents for two-bedroom homes grew faster in Outer London
in the last year
Percentage change in median monthly rent for a
two-bedroom home, June 2011 to June 2012
% Change
0-3
3-5
5-6
6-10
•While the level of median monthly private
rents for two bedroom homes is higher in
Inner London boroughs, the rate of change
over the last year was higher in Outer
London at 11 per cent compared to 3 per
cent in Inner London.
•At borough level the biggest increases were
in Ealing (14 per cent) and Kingston (12
per cent). Rents did not fall in any borough
but were static (at least in nominal terms) in
Southwark, Brent and Havering.
10-14
Source: Valuation Office Agency
2.22 Average private rents in London have both risen and fallen in real terms
over the last decade
Annual percentage change in average private
rents and house prices in London compared
to inflation
20
10
-10
11
20
09
20
07
20
05
20
20
03
0
•Average private sector rents in London
have fluctuated around the general rate of
inflation (as measured by the national Retail
Price Index) over the last decade, falling in
real terms in 2003 and 2004, rising in 2005
to 2007, falling again in 2008 and 2009,
and rising in 2011 and 2012. Between 2002
and 2012 real-terms growth in average rents
has been slightly negative.
•House price growth in London has been
stronger, with the average price rising by
around twenty per cent in real terms over
the decade.
Private rents
RPI inflation
House prices
-20
Source: GLA, Office for National Statistics and Valuation Office Agency
43
2.23 Average private rents in London are twice as high as the national average
Median monthly private rents by region and
number of bedrooms (12 months to June 2012)
2,500
2,000
1,500
•Median monthly rents in London are roughly
twice the national average for each size home.
•The average rent for a one bedroom home in
London (£995) exceeds the average rent for
a three bedroom home in every other region,
which ranges from £500 in the North East to
£850 in the South East.
1,000
500
4+ bedrooms
So Eas
t
ut
h
W
e
So
s
ut t
h
Ea
st
Lo
nd
on
En
gl
an
d
t M ds
id
lan
ds
t
lan
M
id
Ea
st
W
es
r
W
es
be
m
rth
No
Hu
Yo
r
ks
&
No
rth
Ea
st
0
3 bedrooms
2 bedrooms
1 bedroom
Source: Valuation Office Agency
2.24 Around 850,000 tenants in London receive housing benefit, most of
them social housing tenants
Housing benefit recipients in by region and
tenure, August 2012
Social
Private
500
400
300
200
Source: Department for Work and Pensions
London
North West
South East
West Midlands
Yorks & Humber
East
South West
0
East Midlands
100
North East
Number of recipients (000s)
600
•In August 2012 the number of housing benefit
recipients in London was 848,180, by far
the largest total of any English region and
equivalent to a quarter of London households
(although a household can include more than
one benefit recipient).
•567,430 recipients in London, or two thirds
of the total, are in social housing, with the
remaining 280,750 in the private rented sector.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.25 People in employment accounted for most of the growth in London’s housing
benefit caseload in recent years
Housing benefit caseload in London by tenure
and employment status, November 2008 and
August 2012
Benefit recipients (000s)
600
500
Not in employment
In employment
400
300
200
100
0
Nov-08
Aug-12
Nov-08
Private rent
•There are 280,000 housing benefit recipients in
London’s private rented sector, equivalent to a
third of the private rented market if we assume
each household includes just one benefit unit.
•There are almost 570,000 housing benefits in
social housing in London, equivalent to around
three quarters of the sector.
•The housing benefit caseload has grown in
both rented sectors since the data bega in
November 2008. Recipients in employment
accounted for two thirds of the growth in
private rented housing and all of the growth in
social housing.
Aug-12
Social rent
Source: Department for Work and Pensions
2.26 The number of privately renting housing benefit recipients in London has
increased in recent years, but at a declining rate
Percentage monthly change in housing benefit
recipients in London by tenure (three-month
rolling average)
3.0
2.5
Private
Social
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Feb 09
Feb 10
Feb 11
-0.5
Source: Department for Work and Pensions
Feb 12
•In early 2009 the number of private rented
sector tenants in London on housing benefit
was growing by around two per cent a month,
but since then growth has slowed and in
the last few months the number of privately
renting recipients even fell slightly.
•By contrast, the number of housing benefit
recipients in social housing has grown much
more slowly and sporadically, but in the last
few months has overtaken growth in the
private sector
45
2.27 London has far more homes in multiple occupation than any other region
Estimated number of homes in multiple
occupation by region, 2009
•Homes in multiple occupation (HMOs) are
properties that accommodate two or more
distinct households which share facilities such
as kitchens or bathrooms.
•London boroughs estimate that there are
nearly 150,000 HMOs in London, more than a
third of the national total.
•While clusters of HMOs have been linked to
‘studentification’ in other parts of the country,
in London they accommodate a more diverse
mix of residents.
Number of HMOs (000s)
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
n
do
st
Lo
n
Ea
So
ut
h
W
es
h
ut
So
rth
t
t
r
W
es
be
ks
Yo
r
No
Hu
gl
&
En
of
st
Ea
m
an
d
ds
lan
ds
id
lan
M
Ea
st
id
tM
W
es
No
rth
Ea
st
0
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
2.28 Most homes in London were built before the second world war, with
implications for stock condition and energy efficiency
Estimated dwelling age by tenure, London 2010
Housing association
800
Local authority
700
Private rented
600
Owner occupied
500
400
300
200
Post 2002
1996-2002
1991-1995
1981-1990
1975-1980
1965-1974
1945-1964
1919-1944
1900-1918
0
1850-1899
100
Pre 1850
Number of homes built (000s)
900
•London’s housing stock is relatively old, with
15 per cent of it dating from the 19th century
or earlier, and over half from before the second
world war. Just ten per cent of London’s homes
date from 1991 or later.
•The distribution of dwelling ages varies
between tenures, with just one third of owner
occupied or private rented homes built after
the war, compared to four fifths of council
housing and two thirds of housing association
homes.
•The relative age of London’s housing stock
makes it more expensive to maintain or
upgrade to modern standards.
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.29 Around a quarter of homes in London fall below the Decent Homes standard,
down from a third two years ago
Proportion of homes below the Decent Homes
standard by region, 2008 and 2010 (with
confidence intervals)
•The official Decent Homes standard sets
minimum standards in terms of thermal
comfort, state of repair, age and layout of
kitchens and bathrooms, and meeting the legal
minimum standard of fitness for housing.
•In 2008 one third of homes in London (across
all tenures) were estimated to fall below the
standard, but by 2010 this had fallen to one
quarter. In both years the London figure was
in line with the national average and similar to
most other regions.
50
2008
2010
40
30
20
10
d
an
t
gl
h
ut
So
En
W
es
ds
t
lan
W
es
id
tM
st
ds
rth
No
W
es
Yo
rk
Ea
st
M
id
lan
Ea
n
do
r
be
Lo
n
st
m
Ea
s&
Hu
h
ut
So
No
rth
Ea
st
0
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
2.30 In London, privately rented homes are more likely to fall below the Decent
Homes standard than those in other tenures
Proportion of homes in London below the
Decent Homes standard by tenure, 2008 and
2010 (with confidence intervals)
•While the proportion of homes in London
below the Decent Homes standard fell from
one third to one quarter between 2008 and
2010, the only statistically significant changes
by individual tenure were for council rented
and owner occupied homes.
•Rates of non-decent housing are highest in
London’s private rented sector, where around
one third of homes still fall below the standard.
All tenures
Housing
association
Council rented
Private rented
Owner occupied
0
10
2008
20
30
40
50
2010
Source: GLA, Department for Communities and Local Government
47
2.31 The number of social rented homes in London below the Decent Homes
standard has fallen sharply since 2005
Number of council and housing association
homes which fail the Decent Homes Standard as
at 31 March each year
Thousands of homes below standard
250
200
Council
150
100
50
•In 2005 just over 260,000 social rented
homes in London were below the Decent
Homes standard, most of them council
housing. Since then the number of housing
association homes below the standard has
fallen by 85 per cent (as of 2012) and the
number of council homes below the standard
by 55 per cent (as of 2011).
•In March 2011 there were just over 100,000
council or housing association homes below
the standard, a number which is expected
to fall when 2012 figures are published for
council homes.
Housing association
0
2005
2007
2009
2011
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government, Tenant Services Authority and
Homes and Communities Agency
2.32 A relatively small proportion of households in London require a home
adaptation due to disability, but more of them need to move to satisfy it
Proportion of households requiring
home adaptation for disability by region,
2008/09 – 10/11
•Around 180,000 households, six per cent of all
households in London, include someone whose
disability requires adaptation to the homes.
This is a relatively low rate compared to other
regions, probably due in large part to London’s
relatively young population.
•Twelve per cent of households in London
who require a home adaptation are seeking
to move to a home more suitable for coping
with disability. This figure is relatively high in
London and compares to a national rate of
eight per cent.
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
d
an
st
gl
Ea
No
rth
En
ds
r
id
lan
be
m
Hu
Ea
st
M
W
es
t
Yo
rk
s&
h
W
es
t
rth
No
So
ut
ds
st
W
es
tM
id
lan
Ea
st
Ea
h
ut
So
Lo
nd
on
0
Require home adaption due to disability
Of which, seeking to move to a more suitable home
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.33 London’s homes are a major source of the city’s carbon emissions
CO2 emissions from housing in London, 2008/9
Cooking
100
80
Percentage of total
•London’s domestic buildings account for 36
per cent of the City’s overall CO2 emissions
(excluding aviation).
•Space heating and cooling accounts for 61
per cent of total emissions from housing,
compared with 18 per cent from hot water
heating, 18 per cent from lighting and
appliances, and three per cent from cooking.
•The amount of energy used for cooling is
expected to increase as summers in London
get hotter, while the amount of energy
required for space and water heating in new
homes should reduce as new homes are built
to be more energy and water efficient.
Workplaces
Lighting
and
appliances
Hot water
heating
60
Housing
40
20
Space
heating
and
cooling
Transport
0
All sectors
Housing only
Source: GLA
2.34 London has significantly lower per capita carbon emissions than
the rest of the country
Per capita domestic carbon emissions by source,
London and UK 2010
London
UK
-
2
4
6
Tonnes of CO2 per capita
Industry and commercial
Domestic
Source: Department for Energy and Climate Change
8
•London’s per capita carbon emissions
amounted to 5.6 tonnes in 2010, well below
the UK average of 6.6 tonnes.
•The biggest difference between London and
the UK is in emissions from road transport
(1 tonne per capita in London compared to
1.6 in the UK as a whole), while emissions
from industry and commerce (excluding
power stations of national importance) are
relatively similar.
•Emissions from London’s housing are lower
(despite its age) because it has many more
flats and terraced homes, which are more
energy efficient than detached homes.
Road transport
49
2.35 On average, private sector homes are significantly less energy efficient
than affordable homes
Energy efficiency rating band by tenure,
London 2010
Total
Housing
association
Council
Private
rented
Owner
occupied
0
50
Percentage of homes in tenure
B
C
D
E
F
100
•The energy efficiency of housing is measured
by the Standard Assessment Procedure
(SAP) which uses a banding system in which
A-band homes are the most energy efficient.
•In 2010 around forty per cent of homes
in London were in bands E to G, but
this proportion varied widely by tenure,
from around twenty per cent of housing
association homes to around half of owner
occupied homes.
•At the other end of the scale, around a third
of housing association homes were in bands
B to C compared to around ten per cent of
owner occupied homes.
G
Source: Department for Communities and Local Government
2.36 The last four years have seen rapid growth in the number of new cavity wall
and loft insulations in London
Cumulative cavity wall and loft insulations
in London, 2008/09 to 2011/12
Rate per 10,000 households
600
500
Loft insulation
400
300
200
100
Cavity wall insulation
0
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
Source: Department for Energy and Climate Change
•The number of homes in London receiving
insulation through schemes such as the Carbon
Emission Reduction Target (CERT), Warm
Front and the Community Energy Savings
Programme (CESP) has grown rapidly in recent
years, from less than one per cent in 2008/09
to cumulative figures of five per cent (for loft
insulation) and three per cent (for cavity wall
insulation) in 2011/12.
•London’s home insulation is still relatively
low compared to other regions, due to a
combination of higher costs and more ‘hard
to treat’ homes such as flats or solid-wall
properties in London.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.37 Around one in ten London households are in fuel poverty, a lower rate
than other regions
Proportion of households in fuel poverty by
region, 2010
•According to the government’s preferred
measure of fuel poverty, around 330,000
households in London, or eleven per cent of
the total, were living in fuel poverty in 2010.
This is the lowest fuel poverty rate of any
region in England.
•The recent review of fuel poverty measures
led by John Hills found that London also has
the lowest average ‘fuel poverty gap’, defined
as ‘the amounts by which the assessed
energy needs of fuel poor households exceed
the threshold for reasonable costs’.
25
20
15
10
5
ds
lan
W
es
tM
id
Ea
st
t
W
es
No
rth
rth
r
m
be
No
ds
Hu
&
ks
Yo
r
Ea
st
M
id
lan
an
d
gl
t
Ea
st
of
En
h
h
W
es
Ea
st
ut
So
ut
So
Lo
n
do
n
0
Source: Department for Energy and Climate Change
51
Ap pendices
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
A1.1 London boroughs
Enfield
Barnet
Harrow
Brent
Hillingdon
14
Haringey
8
Hounslow
10
11
9
3
5
7
13
Camden 12
Ealing
Redbridge
2
1
Newham
Greenwich
Bexley
4
Lewisham
Merton
6
Bromley
Sutton
Havering
Croydon
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Barking and Dagenham
Tower Hamlets
Southwark
Lambeth
Wandsworth
Kingston upon Thames
Richmond upon Thames
Hammersmith and Fulham
Kensington and Chelsea
Westminster
City of London
Islington
Hackney
Waltham Forest
Source: GLA
A1.2 Proportion of households who owned their home in 2001 by
Middle Super Output Area
Source: Office for National Statistics
Proportion of households
80 to 96%
67 to 80%
52 to 67%
36 to 52%
8 to 36%
53
A1.3 Proportion of households in social housing in 2001 by
Middle Super Output Area
Proportion of households
51 to 85%
33 to 51%
20 to 33%
11 to 20%
1 to 11%
Source: Office for National Statistics
A1.4 Proportion of households in privately rented homes in 2001,
by Middle Super Output Area
Proportion of households
80 to 96%
67 to 80%
52 to 67%
36 to 52%
8 to 36%
Source: Office for National Statistics
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
A1.5 Gross residential density (persons per hectare) in London in 2011,
by Middle Super Output Area
Gross population density
(Persons per hectare)
150 to 250
100 to 150
50 to 100
20 to 50
2 to 20
Source: Office for National Statistics
A1.6 Population of London, 1801 to 2011
10,000
Outer London
9,000
Rest of Inner London
Population (000s)
8,000
City of London
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
Source: Office for National Statistics. Data provided to GLA
11
20
01
20
81
19
61
19
39
19
21
19
01
19
81
18
61
18
41
18
21
18
18
01
0
55
A1.7 Population density in London, 1801 to 2011
500
City of London
450
Rest of Inner London
Density (population per hectare)
400
Outer London
350
London
300
250
200
150
100
50
11
20
01
20
81
19
61
19
39
19
21
19
01
19
81
18
61
18
41
18
21
18
18
01
0
Source: Office for National Statistics. Data provided to GLA.
A1.8 Median age of homes in London by Middle Super Output Area
Period home built (median)
Pre 1900
1900-1918
1919-1929
1930-1939
1945-1954
1955-1964
1965-1972
1973-1982
1983-1992
1993-1999
2000-2009
Source: Valuation Office Agency, Council tax statistics 2012.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
A1.9 Land owned by the GLA
Source: GLA Housing and Land Directorate
57
A1.10 Household tenure by London borough, 2001 and 2011
Owner occupied
2011 %
2001 %
Borough
Barking and
37,628 57
Dagenham
Barnet
84,518 68
Bexley
70,599 80
Brent
55,927 57
Bromley
95,806 77
Camden
31,967 36
City of London
2,148 52
Croydon
95,525 70
Ealing
74,375 64
Enfield
77,994 72
Greenwich
45,422 50
Hackney
27,613 33
Hammersmith
33,157 45
and Fulham
Haringey
42,240 47
Harrow
59,467 77
Havering
72,608 80
Hillingdon
69,674 73
Hounslow
50,890 62
Islington
26,451 33
Kensington and
34,613 45
Chelsea
Kingston-upon43,917 73
Thames
Lambeth
44,028 38
Lewisham
53,831 51
Merton
54,313 70
Newham
40,048 45
Redbridge
69,488 77
Richmond52,766 71
upon-Thames
Southwark
33,235 32
Sutton
56,777 75
Tower Hamlets
22,742 30
Waltham Forest
52,918 60
Wandsworth
60,203 53
Westminster
31,831 36
City of London 1,704,719 58
Inner London
484,107 41
Outer London
1,220,612 69
33,230 48
79,541
67,908
48,960
93,821
32,042
1,868
87,085
65,594
70,549
45,299
26,553
59
73
44
72
33
43
60
53
59
45
26
Private rented
2001 %
2011 %
Social rented
2001 %
2011 %
3,850
6
12,328 18
24,933 38
23,459 34
20,950
5,750
18,172
10,756
23,134
1,047
18,177
19,616
11,052
9,316
13,379
17
6
19
9
26
25
13
17
10
10
16
34,854
10,556
33,181
17,393
31,434
1,573
30,472
34,182
26,591
20,004
29,449
18,957
12,191
23,881
17,815
34,241
938
23,339
22,277
19,299
36,617
43,669
19,334
13,377
26,591
18,425
32,295
725
25,887
22,472
21,073
34,662
44,430
26
11
30
13
32
36
21
28
22
20
29
15
14
24
14
38
23
17
19
18
40
52
14
14
24
14
33
17
18
18
18
34
44
28,654 36
15,934 22
25,555 32
24,630 33
25,133 31
41,136
55,822
72,284
64,291
49,807
27,771
19,565
9,179
5,049
9,439
11,690
13,821
32,095
18,324
10,337
18,141
22,206
25,217
27,890
8,798
13,022
16,146
19,729
40,488
27,242
8,923
13,799
16,752
21,682
39,342
40
66
74
64
53
30
22
12
6
10
14
17
31
22
11
18
23
27
31
11
14
17
24
50
27
11
14
17
23
42
28,707 37
21,262 28
28,108 36
20,565 27
19,271 25
41,196 65
9,688 16
14,312 22
6,832 11
7,502 12
44,872
50,664
47,360
35,628
63,986
35
44
60
35
65
51,351 64
37,783
53,763
26,935
49,379
61,304
33,172
1,618,315
477,089
1,141,226
31
69
27
51
47
31
50
35
60
23,660
14,054
12,202
16,385
11,858
20
13
16
18
13
12,855 17
14,323
7,152
13,105
14,086
27,169
29,408
467,083
246,246
220,837
14
9
17
16
24
34
16
21
12
38,133
28,216
19,503
34,570
22,657
29
24
25
34
23
17,440 22
28,493
12,429
32,964
25,102
41,317
41,949
819,085
419,073
400,012
24
16
33
26
32
40
25
31
21
48,983
38,190
11,219
33,505
9,354
42
36
14
37
10
8,930 12
56,639
11,749
41,236
21,393
26,551
26,365
790,371
463,890
326,481
Notes: Owner occupied includes shared ownership. Private rented includes ‘Other rented’.
The table excludes those recorded as ‘living rent free’.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2001 table UV063 and Census 2011 table QS402EW.
54
16
53
24
23
30
27
39
18
45,619
36,052
11,102
30,092
11,289
35
31
14
30
11
10,051 13
52,644
11,422
40,106
21,376
26,516
27,348
785,993
446,815
339,178
44
15
40
22
20
26
24
33
18
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
A1.11 Net housing supply by borough, 2010/11
Borough
Barking and Dagenham
Barnet
Bexley
Brent
Bromley
Camden
City of London
Croydon
Ealing
Enfield
Greenwich
Hackney
Hammersmith and
Fulham
Haringey
Harrow
Havering
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Islington
Kensington and Chelsea
Kingston upon Thames
Lambeth
Lewisham
Merton
Newham
Redbridge
Richmond upon Thames
Southwark
Sutton
Tower Hamlets
Waltham Forest
Wandsworth
Westminster
London
Conventional
completions
Non selfcontained
completions
Vacancies
returning
to use
Total
housing
supply
Net
affordable
conventional
supply
Affordable
as % of total
conventional
339
679
168
393
672
538
98
1,122
264
455
1,182
391
457
0
0
0
-9
-34
138
54
7
31
8
2
-5
-20
89
135
-109
-34
82
110
-22
155
282
-42
-279
88
114
428
814
59
350
720
786
130
1,284
577
421
905
474
551
143
224
60
184
198
142
2
385
73
220
775
221
150
42%
33%
36%
47%
29%
26%
2%
34%
28%
48%
66%
57%
33%
322
440
69
303
667
512
168
136
1,342
728
356
787
350
320
1,444
327
1,296
425
481
746
17,977
-7
0
0
-72
0
752
246
121
0
-12
0
-17
-600
-18
235
0
1,192
2
-21
-122
1,851
93
41
127
116
489
133
-3
328
550
2
-11
193
120
-52
471
189
684
105
108
630
4,882
408
481
196
347
1,156
1,397
411
585
1,892
718
345
963
-130
250
2,150
516
3,172
532
568
1,254
24,710
49
167
0
175
349
-43
61
65
744
339
48
370
111
45
587
222
292
248
109
152
6,867
15%
38%
0%
58%
52%
-8%
36%
48%
55%
47%
13%
47%
32%
14%
41%
68%
23%
58%
23%
20%
38%
Notes: Conventional housing supply comprises new build and conversions.
Vacancies returning to use include only those that were vacant for more than six months.
A negative figure indicates an increase in the number of long-term vacant homes.
Source: GLA, London Plan Annual Monitoring Report 8, 2012.
59
A1.12 Affordable housing delivery by borough
Borough
Barking and Dagenham
Barnet
Bexley
Brent
Bromley
Camden
City of London
Croydon
Ealing
Enfield
Greenwich
Hackney
Hammersmith and
Fulham
Haringey
Harrow
Havering
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Islington
Kensington and Chelsea
Kingston upon Thames
Lambeth
Lewisham
Merton
Newham
Redbridge
Richmond upon Thames
Southwark
Sutton
Tower Hamlets
Waltham Forest
Wandsworth
Westminster
London
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
Total
2009/10 to
2011/12
Proportion
social rented
(%)
Proportion
intermediate
(%)
180
210
280
560
320
220
10
1,030
400
210
390
1,260
570
270
390
310
610
500
230
0
750
260
550
1,340
690
60
370
660
350
850
390
230
0
580
670
890
490
1,020
210
820
1,260
940
2,020
1,210
680
10
2,360
1,330
1,650
2,220
2,970
840
51
68
67
69
64
74
0
64
62
62
58
54
29
49
32
33
31
36
26
100
36
38
38
42
46
71
300
290
100
410
440
320
30
80
700
340
90
700
330
60
640
130
1,990
250
270
470
13,560
270
310
170
380
670
90
30
80
1,010
520
110
580
250
40
820
230
1,260
460
230
550
14,010
480
400
460
640
330
890
60
110
680
900
470
810
30
240
760
260
1,800
630
420
180
17,240
1,050
1,000
730
1,430
1,440
1,300
120
270
2,390
1,760
670
2,090
610
340
2,220
620
5,050
1,340
920
1,200
44,810
55
59
56
61
53
66
75
67
68
64
54
52
57
68
63
65
70
65
28
64
61
45
41
44
39
47
34
25
33
32
36
46
48
43
32
37
35
30
35
72
36
39
Notes: See DCLG statistical release on affordable housing supply for full notes and definitions.
Source: Department of Communities and Local Government, Affordable housing supply statistics.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
Appendix 2:
Sources and notes
1.01 GLA,
Analysis of Census data. Average
household size in 1951 is for all UK and thus
is likely to overstate the actual average for
London. Figures from 1961 are for London
only.
1.02Office
for National Statistics, Census 2011.
1.03Office
for National Statistics, Census 2011.
1.04GLA,
Intelligence Update 01-2011: 2010
Round Demographic Projections using the
2009 SHLAA, 2011.
1.09GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2010/11. The
income variable used is household gross
annual income, including income from all
household members (not just the household
reference person and their partner). Note
that confidence intervals are not shown
for this and the following three charts for
formatting reasons, but as the figures are
taken from a limited single-year sample they
should be treated as broad estimates.
1.10GLA
1.05Office
for National Statistics, Mid-year
estimates components of change analysis,
2012. The figures for each individual year
were the best estimates made at the time,
and have not been revised in light of more
recent data such as the 2011 Census.
1.06GLA
and Office for National Statistics, GLA
analysis of historical Census data. ‘Private
rented’ includes those households renting
with a job or business. Households renting
from housing associations were included
with private renting in 1961 and 1971, but as
housing association properties amounted to
only 4% of the total in 1981 this is unlikely to
make a large difference to the trends shown.
1.07GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
Survey of English Housing and English
Housing Survey data.
1.08Office
for National Statistics, Census 2011.
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2010/11.
1.11GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2010/11.
1.12GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2010/11.
1.13GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2010/11. The
figure for satisfaction with accommodation is
calculated by summing those who answered
‘very satisfied’ and ‘fairly satisfied’. The
figure for satisfaction with current tenure is
calculated by summing those who ‘strongly
agree’ that they are satisfied and those who
‘tend to agree’.
61
1.14Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Public attitudes to housing in
England: Report based on the results from
the British Social Attitudes survey, 2011.
1.15GLA,
Annual London Survey 2011.
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2010/11.
Equivalent figures for England as a whole
are presented in DCLG’s 2010/11 English
Housing Survey household report.
quartile ratio as in previous editions of
Housing in London, because DCLG’s table
showing lower quartile ratios for London
contains an error.
1.23Council
of Mortgage Lenders, Mortgage
lending statistics.
1.16GLA
1.17GLA
and Land Registry, GLA analysis of Land
Registry price paid data.
The Land Registry publishes price paid
data on a monthly basis under the Open
Government License.
1.18English
Heritage and London School of
Economics, An assessment of the effects of
conservation areas on value, 2012.
1.24GLA,
Council of Mortgage Lenders and
Office for National Statistics, Calculated
by GLA from ONS House Price Index table
24 and CML statistics on median deposit
requirements.
1.25Council
of Mortgage Lenders, Mortgage
lending statistics.
1.26Council
of Mortgage Lenders, News and
views, October 2012.
1.27Ministry
of Justice, Mortgage and landlord
possession statistics, 2012.
1.28Department
1.19GLA
and Office for National Statistics, GLA
analysis of ONS House Price Index data,
2012. This time series has been constructed
by the GLA using the ONS quarterly mixadjusted house price index for London
and quarterly Retail Price Index data. An
exponential trend curve has been fitted.
for National Statistics, House Price
Index, 2012.
for Communities and Local
Government and Council of Mortgage
Lenders, Housing live table 584, and CML
statistics table PT1.
1.29GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2008/09 to
2010/11.
1.20Office
House Price Indices, 2012. The
format of this chart was adapted from a
chart in the IPPR report ‘Affordable capital?
Housing in London’.
1.30GLA,
Seaside and Country Homes programme
monitoring data.
1.21Nationwide,
1.31GLA,
Seaside and Country Homes programme
monitoring data.
1.32GLA
1.22Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Housing live table 577. This
chart uses the ratio of median prices to
median earnings, rather than the lower
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
CORE data on general needs lettings,
2011/12.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
1.33GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government. GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2008/09 to
2010/11.
1.34Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Statutory Homelessness
Statistics, 2012.
1.35Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Housing live table 790.
1.36Office
for National Statistics and Department
for Communities and Local Government,
Census 2011 and DCLG Statutory
Homelessness Statistics, 2011.
for Communities and Local
Government, P1E data on statutory
homelessness.
1.43Broadway,
Street to home - Annual report,
2011/12.
1.44Great
Britain Historical GIS Project and Office
for National Statistics, Data for 1931 to 1991
is copyright of the Great Britain Historical
GIS Project (run by Humphrey Southall and
the University of Plymouth), data for 2001
and 2011 is from the respective ONS Census
releases. The measure of overcrowding
used is ‘persons per room’, as distinct from
the bedroom standard used elsewhere in
‘Housing in London’. According to this
measure, households with over 1 persons
per room are overcrowded and those with
over 1.5 persons per room are severely
overcrowded.
1.37Department
1.38Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Housing live table 779.
Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
parliamentary written answers and statements
18 May, 2009 for years 1997/98 to 2007/08,
DCLG Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix
and Regulatory Statistical Return data for
2008/09 to 2010/11.
1.45Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Data provided to GLA, 2012.
The measure of overcrowding used is the
bedroom standard. Rolling three-year
averages are used to overcome the problem
of small sample sizes.
1.39GLA,
1.40Broadway,
2.01GLA
Street to home - Annual report,
2011/12.
1.42Broadway,
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2008/09 to
2010/11. The measure of overcrowding used
is the bedroom standard. Rolling three-year
averages are used to overcome the problem
of small sample sizes.
Street to home - Annual report,
2011/12.
1.41Broadway,
1.40GLA
Street to home - Annual report,
2011/12.
Note that the base figure for this graph
excludes 426 people for whom the nationality
is missing or not known.
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, Data for 1961 to 1969
from Annual Abstracts of Greater London
Statistics, data for 1970 to 1989 provided by
DCLG, and data from 1990/91 is from DCLG
Housing Live Table 232. These figures are
gross in the sense that they do not account
for homes demolished or replaced. As stated
in the text they also exclude new supply
from conversions and changes of use and are
63
therefore an undercount of total new housing
supply in London.
2.02Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Data provided to DCLG.
As shown in 2.03, these figures include
acquisitions of existing homes and so are not
the same as the growth in the overall stock of
housing.
2.03Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Data provided to DCLG. Each
series excludes minor categories which are
not entirely new build or acquisitions, e.g. PFI
and ‘other HCA schemes’.
2.08Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Net supply of housing
2011/12.
Note, the London total is estimated by
summing the London borough figures, as
DCLG no longer publish any regional totals.
2.09GLA,
Analysis of data from London
Development Database, 2012.
2.10Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Housing live table 254.
2.11Office
for National Statistics, Census 2011.
2.12Department
2.04Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Housing live tables 1006 to
1007.
for Communities and Local
Government, Land use change statistics table
P231, 2011.
2.13GLA,
2.05GLA
and Homes and Communities Agency,
London affordable housing statistics
2008/09 to 2011/12. Figures for 2008/09
to 2010/11 refer to homes ‘sponsored’ by
London boroughs as recorded by the Homes
and Communities Agency, and include a small
number of homes located outside London.
Figures for 2011/12 refer to homes located
in London but exclude a small number of
homes sponsored by authorities outside
London.
2.06Department
for Communities and
Local Government, Department for
Communities and Local Government,
Housing live table 648.
2.07GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA Housing provision
survey and London Development Database,
DCLG Net supply of housing statistics
2011/12.
London Plan Annual Monitoring
Report, 2012.
2.14GLA,
London Plan Annual Monitoring
Report, 2012.
2.15Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Public attitudes to housing in
England: Report based on the results from
the British Social Attitudes survey, 2011.
2.16GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA Analysis of historic
data provided by DCLG and Housing Strategy
Statistical Appendix data.
2.17Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Housing live tables 615
(empty homes) and 100 (total stock by local
authority area).
2.18Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Housing live tables 615
(empty homes) and 100 (total stock by local
authority area).
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
2.19Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Council Tax Base 2012.
2.20Valuation
Office Agency, Private rental
market statistics, 2012.
2.21Valuation
Office Agency, Private rental
market statistics, 2012.
Office for National Statistics and
Valuation Office Agency, Calculations by
GLA based on ONS house price data, ONS
inflation data, and data on private rents from
GLA surveys (2002 to 2009) and VOA data
(2010 to 2012). This chart shows annualised
changes in RPI inflation, the ONS house price
index for London and a mix-adjusted index
of private rents calculated by GLA. Rental
data for 2002 to 2009 are calculated from
averages over the whole year, while figures
for 2010 to 2012 are the averages as at July
in each year.
English Housing Survey data, 2010/11.
Confidence intervals are not shown for
formatting reasons, but as the figures are
taken from a limited single-year sample they
should be treated as broad estimates.
2.29GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of English
Housing Survey data, 2010/11.
2.22GLA,
2.23Valuation
Office Agency, Private rental
market statistics, 2012.
2.30GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of English
Housing Survey data, 2010/11.
2.31Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Business Plan Statistical
Appendix and Regulatory Statistical Return
data, various years. Homes and Communities
Agency, Statistical Data Return, 2012.
2.32GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
English Housing Survey data, 2008/09 to
2010/11.
2.33GLA,
2.24Department
for Work and Pensions, Stat
X-Plore (Housing benefit statistics), 2012.
2.25Department
for Work and Pensions, Stat
X-Plore (Housing benefit statistics), 2012.
2.26Department
for Work and Pensions, Stat
X-Plore (Housing benefit statistics), 2012.
2.27Department
for Communities and Local
Government, Housing Strategy Statistical
Appendix data, 2009. A fuller definition of
HMOs is given in CLG, Licensing of Houses in
Multiple Occupation in England: A guide for
landlords and managers, 2010.
2.28GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of DCLG
Delivering London’s Energy Future:
The Mayor’s climate change mitigation and
energy strategy, 2011.
2.34Department
for Energy and Climate
Change, Local authority energy efficiency
statistics, 2012. Excludes emissions not
considered to be within the influence of
local authorities, such as motorways and
European Energy Trading Scheme power
sources.
2.35GLA
and Department for Communities and
Local Government, GLA analysis of English
Housing Survey data, 2010/11. The Standard
Assessment Procedure (SAP) is DECC’s
methodology for assessing and comparing
the energy and environmental performance
of dwellings. Its purpose is to provide
65
accurate and reliable assessments of dwelling
energy performances that are needed to
underpin energy and environmental policy
initiatives. The SAP was updated in 2009 by
the Building Research Establishment.
2.36Department
for Energy and Climate Change,
Local authority energy efficiency statistics,
2012.
2.37Department
for Energy and Climate Change,
Fuel poverty statistics, 2012.
HO U S I NG I N L O N DO N
Appendix 3:
Measures of housing supply
used by the GLA
There are many ways to measure housing
supply, but none that by itself tells us
everything we need to know. The GLA therefore
uses different measures of supply for different
purposes. This note explains how each measure
is defined and what it is used for.
Planning
The housing targets in the London Plan
are monitored using the measure of net
conventional housing supply and data
from the London Development Database.
Net conventional supply covers new build,
conversions and changes of use and is adjusted
to take account of homes demolished or
replaced. It does not take account of increases
or losses of affordable homes due to sales or
acquisitions.
The advantage of this measure is that it covers
all tenures and all changes to the dwelling stock;
the main disadvantage being the long time-lag
between the end of the financial year and the
publication of figures in the London Plan Annual
Monitoring Report.
Housing investment
The GLA publishes statistics on the affordable
homes it funds, and the Department of
Communities and Local Government takes these
figures and adds affordable homes funded
by other sources (typically a relatively small
amount) to produce its annual statistics on
affordable housing supply.
This measure of supply benefits from
comparability over time and with other parts
of the country, and from the inclusion of
acquisitions in the measure of affordable
housing supply. Its disadvantages are that DCLG
include some minor elements not commonly
understood as new supply such as Right to
Acquire sales, and that this measure accounts
only for demolitions directly related to new
affordable housing developments. Affordable
housing supply by this measure will therefore
typically be higher than by the measure of net
conventional supply.
Comparisons
Both these measures of housing are legitimate
in their own right, but comparisons between the
two should only be undertaken with care, not
least because they may each measure a given
home as ‘complete’ at a different point in time.
Other measures
There are also other measures of housing supply
which are not used by GLA for monitoring
purposes but which are also useful in their
own right and are often quoted by other
organisations or the press when discussing
housing supply. These include DCLG statistics
on gross new build starts and completions,
NHBC statistics on new housing registrations
and analysis by other commentators/
organisatons such as Molior, Savills or the
HBF. These all have their own different
advantages and disadvantages, but none can
be straightforwardly compared to the data
discussed above.
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