The number of homes in the social housing sector shrank again last year, an ODPM report has revealed.

The Survey of English Housing found that almost 100,000 homes were lost in 2003/4. The previous year only 28,000 were lost. There are now 3.9 million social homes in England.

Experts blame right-to-buy sales for much of this. John Perry, policy adviser at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “Surprisingly even one year’s figures show significant changes in patterns of tenure. Social housing is still in decline. Although there were 195,000 more housing association tenancies, the local authority sector has 288,000 fewer homes.

“Transfer may account for most but houses are being ‘lost’ at a high rate through right to buy.”

Despite rising only slightly, homeownership passed the 70% barrier in England for the first time, Perry said.

The survey also found that 2.4% or 491,688 of all English households were overcrowded.

Read the survey at www.odpm.gov.uk

Source

Housing Today