Social renters include households renting either from the council or a housing association.

• A higher proportion of social renters lived in a purpose built flat or maisonette than any other group (40% compared with 22% of private renters and 7% of owner occupiers).
• Council tenants were more likely than other tenure groups to live in accommodation built between 1945 and 1964 (39% compared with 11% to 24%) which reflects the fact that this was a peak period for local authority housing construction. A further 34% lived in accommodation built between 1965 and 1984.
• Housing association tenants were more likely than other households to live in recently built accommodation. Thirty percent lived in accommodation built since 1985. This figure reflects the fact that from around 1988, housing associations became responsible for the majority of ‘new starts’ ie building of new social rented accommodation.
• Those living in social rented housing had on average the lowest income of all households (housing association tenants - £191 gross per week; council tenants - £193 gross per week).
• Households consisting of single adults aged 60 or over were more likely than other households to be social renters (37% compared with 8% to 32%) – 26% rented from the council and 11% rented from a housing association.
• Lone parent families were more likely than other families to live in social sector housing (51% compared with 15% of other families).
• Households headed by a Black person were more likely than other households to be renting from a local authority or housing association (45% compared with 32% of Pakistani or Bangladeshi, 22% of White and 11% of Indian households). They represent 4% of all households in the social rented sector.