Five surprise affordability statistics about the UK Private Rented Sector (PRS)

Five surprise affordability statistics about the UK Private Rented Sector (PRS)

The Private Rented Sector attracts a lot of headlines, many of which are not supportive of the sector. This is despite statistics from the government’s own English Housing Survey and Office of National Statistics which show that in reality the sector is (for most) affordable and   

#1: Are fewer Private Rented Sector households in arrears post-pandemic?

Despite the cost of living crisis and rising rents over recent years, in 2023-24, 95% of private rented households hadn’t been in arrears over the past 12 months compared to 92% of private renters in 2019-20.

#2: How many private renters find it easy to pay rent in 2023/24?

The majority of private renters – 68% – reported it was easy to pay their rent; however, this is lower than the 73% who stated it was ‘easy’ in 2019-20

#3: Private renter incomes: how are tenants spread across income brackets?

It’s not a huge surprise that owner-occupiers are usually represented in the higher income quintiles, while those in social housing are in the lowest. What might be a surprise is that private renters are most evenly spread across all income brackets.

• 20% of renters are in the lowest income brackets
• 24% are in the second income quintile
• 22% in the third
• 20% in the fourth
• 14% in the fifth

Of course this is skewed towards those renting in London, with 26% being in the highest bracket versus 10% of those who lived in the rest of England.

Perhaps even more surprising is 3% of those who rent socially are also in the highest income bracket!   

#4: Can private renters still afford to save and buy a home?

In 2023-24, around 2.5 million private renters expect to buy a property at some point. To be able to do this, renters need to have savings and despite the difficulties with the cost of living crisis, it is good news that the latest data shows that in 2023-24:-

“52% of private renters had savings, an increase when compared to 10 years ago, when 33% of private renters had savings; similarly, 48% of private renters in 2023-24 did not have savings, which was a decrease from 67% in 2013-14.”

And of those that expect to buy, 60% have savings which can vary from £5,000 and £15,999 (16%), while the least common amount saved was less than £1,000 (5%).

#5: Are private rents affordable in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2024?

It’s considered that paying around 30% of income on private rents is the ‘affordable threshold’ in England and Wales. In 2024, according to the Office of National Statistics, private renters spend on their median household income:

• England: 36.3%
• Wales: 25.9%
• N.Ireland: 25.3%

So in Wales and N.Ireland the proportion of rents is considered affordable, while in England it looks high ‘on average’, but this is due to the levels of rent in areas such as London, Bristol and Bath.

In reality, apart from London and the South West, most English regions are charging rents which are considered on a par with affordability or lower:

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