The Data Observatory

The NRLA Data Observatory is a collection of official and other well-established data sources which when combined, provide a narrative of the Private Rented Sector (PRS).  The NRLA tracks approximately 45 key data sets which are updated monthly, quarterly and annually. A selection of these appear in these pages.

Our Deep Insight blog provides a regular extension of the analysis which appears here, as well as those datasets which are not published in the Data Observatory section of this website.

The blog pages also features blog posts from other organisations and academics to provide insight on the PRS. Here you can also find more in-depth summaries of our regular reports and surveys.

PRS households

Chart 1: PRS households in England

The most recent English Housing Survey (EHS) shows a slight fall in both the number of households in the PRS and the proportion of households in England made up of private renters.

Just short of 4.6m households were in the PRS in 2022/23 – a small reduction (around one third of one percentage point) from the previous year. There is a correspondingly small reduction in the proportion of total households in the PRS – 18.8%. 2016/17 saw the total percentage rise above 20% (20.3% of all households were in the PRS), but in the six years since then the percentage has hovered between 18.5% and 19.5%.

Chart 2: Dwellings in the PRS

The chart above shows the trend in the number of dwellings - both occupied and unoccupied - in the PRS. Note that during Covid the data collection methodology changed. It was not possible to make an estimate of vacant property. How the change in data collection methodology has affected (distorted) the dwellings and household statistics remains to be seen. The English Housing Survey is commissioned by DLUHC but undertaken independently to the highest standards. The unique challenge of Covid-19 does however mean there should be caution attached to the numbers as a single data series.

Whilst the number of households in the PRS has fallen, the number of dwellings reported in the survey has risen. Most of that increase is the reinclusion of vacant properties following changes to the data collection methodology during Covid. There are also 38,000 more occupied housing units in the PRS in 2022 than in the previous year.

There are around 3.5% more dwellings in the PRS in 2022 than (pre-Covid) 2019, which is around the same as the growth in the number of households in a similar period (household data is published in financial years).

Charts 3-6: Households in the PRS (Source: Family Resources Survey (FRS), various editions)

These charts show the recent patterns of PRS tenure across each of the four Home Nations in comparison to the United Kingdom as a whole. 

• The 1998/99 Family Resources Survey showed that the proportion of households in the PRS was 10% for Great Britain (there was then no figure for Northern Ireland). 
• In 2021/22, the proportion of households in the PRS across the UK had risen slightly compared to the previous year, from 18% to 19%. 
• Whilst this proportion has been as high as 20% (2015/16 & 2016/17) for the last five FRS surveys, the figure has fluctuated between 19% and 18% (2020/21). 
• In England, Wales and N. Ireland the proportion of households in the PRS grew. 
• In Scotland – where the proportion of households in the PRS has consistently been below the UK average – the proportion has fallen to 14% - the lowest level since 2010/2011. 
• In last year’s analysis of the data, the unusual fall in the N. Ireland figure was picked out. This year there has been a sudden rise – from 13% last year to 17% of all households being tenured in the PRS. The caution attached to the previous year’s figure at the time – based on small sample sizes and reliability thresholds – appears to be confirmed by this year’s survey. 

Note that each nation collects its own data on housing volumes. This makes difficult to make long term comparisons across the Union.