Census 2001 - People and their homes in England and Wales

This release looks at

 Types of premises     Tenure     Lowest floor level     Cars or vans    
 Background Notes

The increase in the proportion of homes owned by their occupier has continued to rise - albeit by a small amount from 67.6 per cent in 1991 to 68.2 per cent in 2001.

This is one of the findings in new data from Census 2001 released today. Some of the other key findings are:

• The average number of people living in a household in England and Wales is 2.36, down from 2.51 in 1991.
• 29 per cent of households now own two or more cars compared with 24 per cent ten years ago.
• One in 25 households in South Bucks owns four or more cars.
• In England and Wales 96.1 per cent of houses are occupied, 3.2 per cent vacant and 0.7 per cent second homes or holiday accommodation.
• In England 79.9 per cent of households are houses or bungalows and 19.7 per cent flats, maisonettes or apartments while in Wales 88.2 per cent are houses or bungalows and 11.4 per cent flats, maisonettes or apartments.
• The average number of rooms per household is 5.34.
• More than 1.5 million households are overcrowded in England and Wales.
• 12 per cent of households are on the first floor or above.
• Nearly 41 per cent of households in the Isles of Scilly do not have central heating and 1 per cent of households in London do not have their own toilet or bath.

Types of premises

There are a total of 22,539,000 households in England and Wales. 21,660,000 of these are occupied (20,451,000 in England and 1,209,000 in Wales), 727,000 are vacant (676,000 in England and 51,000 in Wales) and 151,000 are second homes or holiday accommodation (135,000 in England and 16,000 in Wales).

Vacancy rates are above average (3.9 per cent or more) in the North West, North East, Wales and Yorkshire & the Humber while in London, South East, East and South West vacancy rates are 2.8 per cent or less.

Among local authorities South Holland in the East Midlands reports the highest proportion of whole houses or bungalows, followed by Derwentside and Staffordshire Moorlands. However, almost half of London's households are flats, maisonettes or apartments. Of these 33 per cent are purpose-built flats and 14 per cent are part of a converted or shared house.

Of the 20 districts with the highest proportion of flats, maisonettes or apartments, 18 are in London. The other two districts are the south coast resorts of Brighton & Hove and Bournemouth.

In both England and Wales only 0.4 per cent of households are a caravan or other mobile or temporary structure.

Tenure

For England and Wales more than two-thirds of homes are owner occupied and 31 per cent rented. In England 29 per cent are owned outright and 39 per cent owned with a mortgage while in Wales 34 per cent are owned outright and 37 per cent owned with a mortgage.

Castlepoint has the highest percentage of owner occupancy at 88 per cent, followed by Blaby on 87 per cent and Fareham on 86 per cent. In Tower Hamlets just 28 per cent of households are owner occupied with 30 per cent in Southwark and 31 per cent in Hackney.

In England 19 per cent of households are rented from social landlords (a Council, Housing Association or Registered Social Landlord) and 12 per cent rented from a private owner. In Wales these proportions are 18 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

In England 0.7 per cent of households are in shared ownership schemes, paying part rent and part mortgage, and in Wales this is 0.5 per cent. However, in Milton Keynes more than 5 per cent of households are in shared ownership schemes. No other district has more than 2 per cent of households in such shared ownership.

Household size

The average household size is similar in England and Wales and is 2.36 people. This ranges from 2.31 people per household in the South West to 2.41 in the West Midlands.

The variation of household size is greatest in London ranging from 1.58 in the City of London to 2.64 in Newham. This is the highest average number of people in a household across England and Wales. Slough has the second highest at 2.63 people.

The average number of rooms per household is 5.33 in England and 5.59 in Wales. Rooms include living rooms, bedroom, kitchens, utility rooms and studies but not bathrooms or storage rooms.

Comparing the number of rooms with the number of occupants gives a picture of overcrowded households. Across England and Wales 1.5 million households are overcrowded. London has by far the highest proportion of overcrowded households at 17 per cent. The South East region has the second highest proportion of 6 per cent overcrowded.

Households in Wales are least overcrowded at an average of just over 4 per cent. In the City of London 34 per cent of households are overcrowded while in Broadland and North Kesteven only 2 per cent are overcrowded.

In Yorkshire & the Humber 13 per cent of households do not have central heating and 12 per cent in the North West have no central heating. Apart from the Isles of Scilly where nearly 41 per cent of people do not have central heating the next highest proportions are in Liverpool (27 per cent) and Barrow in Furness (26 per cent).

In contrast, only about 1.5 per cent did not have central heating in Durham, Easington and Stevenage. After London the South West and the South East has the highest proportion of households without a bath/shower or toilet - 0.5 per cent.

The regions with the lowest proportion of households without a bath or toilet are the North East on 0.2 per cent and the West and East Midlands with about 0.3 per cent.

Lowest floor level

A new question asked about the lowest floor level of the property to identify the proportion of people living in high rise flats. In England 11 per cent of households have their lowest level on the first to fourth floor and 0.7 per cent on the fifth floor or higher.

In Wales 7.1 per cent are on the first to fourth floor and 0.1 per cent higher. Thirty per cent of households in London report the first or higher as their lowest floor level and the next highest proportion is found in the South East region at 10 per cent.

There are 19 districts where more than 2 per cent of the population live on the fifth floor or higher and 16 are in London. The three districts outside London are Brighton & Hove, Salford and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Cars or vans

In England 27 per cent of households do not own a car or van while 44 per cent of households own just one, 24 per cent own two, 4 per cent own three and 1 per cent own four or more.

The patterns and proportions are similar in Wales where 26 per cent do not own a car, 45 per cent own one, 23 per cent own two, 4 per cent own three and 1 per cent own four or more.

In Inner London over half of households have no car. Outside London, 48 per cent of households in Liverpool and Manchester do not own cars and 45 per cent in Newcastle do not.

In contrast, 6.3 per cent of the South East region own three cars and 2.1 per cent own four or more while in the local authority area of South Bucks one in ten households own three cars and one in 25 own four or more.

The proportion of households owning one car is almost unchanged between 1991 and 2001 at about 44 per cent. However the proportion not owning a car has declined since 1991 from 32 per cent to 27 per cent and the proportion owning two cars has increased from 20 per cent to 23 per cent and three cars and more from 4 per cent to 6 per cent.

Background Notes

1. Census day is 29 April 2001. Census data give a snapshot picture of the country at this time. Population counts by age and sex for England and Wales, Wales, regions of England and English and Welsh local authorities were published on 30 September 2002.

2. The Office for National Statistics is responsible for the census in England and Wales. The Census in Scotland and in Northern Ireland is carried out by the General Register Office for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency respectively. Census data for Scotland and Northern Ireland are released separately.

3. Detailed Census results published today are mainly for England and Wales and its regions and local authorities. Individual press releases are available for Wales and each of the nine English Government Office Regions: North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands, East Midlands, South West, South East, London and the East. Press releases covering six key Census topic areas are also issued today: Ethnicity and religion, Families, Health, Households, People and places, Work. Census data published today are available free on the National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk/census/

4. Further releases of Census data will take place through Spring and Summer 2003. In March/April there will be cross-tabulated data, followed by data down to small area/ward level. In the summer will begin a series of multi-source topic reports which draw upon other sources in addition to census to provide detailed pictures of specific topics and areas.

5. Details of the policy governing the release of new data are available from the press office.

6. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference. © Crown copyright 2003.