Census figures show the majority of social renters in London hold UK passports (Victoria Jones/PA)

Most social housing residents in London were born in the UK

By Will Grimond, PA
16:54 - December 18, 2023

A social media post claims nearly half of London’s social housing is occupied by migrants.

The post on X, formerly Twitter, also suggests that young Londoners pay half of their incomes in rent.

Evaluation: Missing context

The validity of the claim depends on how we measure the usage of housing stock and the definition of “migrants”. The original post is correct insofar as the head of the household in nearly half of social-rented households was born outside of the UK, but this is not the case when looking at the background of everyone who is a resident in such properties. In addition, around 75% of London social renters hold UK passports.

Different figures from both Oxford’s Migration Observatory and the 2021 census show there are far fewer social renters in London who were migrants than of those born in the UK. Census figures further suggest foreign-born tenants are not using an outsized proportion of the housing stock.

The facts

Social housing is more affordable than housing on the open market and are usually built with the support of government funding. Properties can be rented from housing associations or councils at reduced rents, or they can be part-owned and part-rented under a shared ownership scheme.

The PA news agency’s analysis of Office for National Statistics census data from March 2021 shows 48% of “household reference persons” (the head of the household) renting social housing in London were born outside the UK.

However – perhaps due to the relative age of this group – the percentage drops when we include all residents living in social housing, not just the household heads.

Across all residents, more than 1.3 million UK-born people were living in social housing in London in 2021, compared to 525,000 who were born overseas.

This is corroborated by findings from Oxford University’s Migration Observatory, which researches trends in migration in the UK. Analysis of the Annual Population Survey between 2019 and 2021 found there were 679,000 foreign-born people living in social housing in London, compared to more than 1.2 million people who were born in the UK.

These figures are based on the housing characteristics of tenants, rather than a measure of how housing stock itself is being used. Theoretically, one group could consist of small households living in larger homes, for example, and take up an outsized proportion of the housing stock. However, evidence on overcrowding and underoccupancy suggests this is not the case.

The ONS defines overcrowded housing using the ‘bedroom standard’, which judges how many rooms are needed based on the composition of a household. For instance, a household made up of an adult couple and two young children would be expected to need a minimum of two bedrooms.

Figures from the 2021 census show the level of households meeting (or not meeting) this standard is similar across both the UK and within the group of foreign-born social housing residents in London. Around two thirds of each group live in homes which meet the bedroom standard.

This means foreign-born residents are not occupying a overly large proportion of the social housing stock despite making up a smaller proportion of social renters. Were this the case, we would expect to see significant underoccupancy among this group, or overcrowding among UK-born tenants.

In addition, social housing residents born outside of the UK may have been in the country for decades, and hold citizenship. More than three-quarters of heads of household socially renting in London held a UK passport.

The claim is correct that many Londoners can expect to pay around half of their income on rent. Research from the Trust for London, a charitable foundation, found private rent for a one-bedroom flat cost more than half of the median wage in eight boroughs in the capital as of 2022.

Links

The claim on X (archived)

The PA news agency’s analysis of Office for National Statistics census data from March 2021 (archived)

The PA news agency’s analysis of all residents, country of birth and tenure in London from the 2021 census (hosted on Google Sheets) – see Analysis tab (archived)

Migration Observatory analysis of household reference persons, country of birth and tenure in London from the Annual Population Survey – see figure 1 (archived)

ONS bedroom standard methodology (archived)

The PA news agency’s analysis of all residents, country of birth, tenure and occupancy rating in London from the 2021 census (hosted on Google Sheets) – see Analysis tab (archived)

The PA news agency’s analysis of household reference persons, passports held and tenure in London from the 2021 census (hosted on Google Sheets) – see Analysis tab (archived)

Trust for London analysis of London wages and rents (archived)

Custom analysis of 2021 census figures is available hereAn overview of certain definitions and findings on housing is also available (archived)

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