30 January 2025
The English Housing Survey published today by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has revealed that the overcrowding rate in England in 2023-24 was 3%, similar to previous years. Over the last 10 years, the proportion of homes in the highest energy efficiency bands A to C increased from 23% to 52%, while the proportion within the lowest bands of E to G fell by 17%.
There was a decrease in the overall prevalence of non-decent homes compared to pre-pandemic estimates, with the social rented sector falling from 12% to 10%. Category 1 hazards remained more prevalent in the private rented sector (10%) than the social rented sector (4%). Damp increased across all tenures since 2019, but was more prevalent in the private rented sector (9%), compared to the social rented sector (7%).
John Guest, national head of social housing and partner at RSM UK, said: “The survey provides a meaningful insight into the social housing landscape, with physical inspections revealing that housing associations are punching above their weight to ensure safe and efficient stock, despite tight margins. Following record repair costs of £8.8bn in 2024, the fall in non-decent social housing stock further highlights how social landlords are managing to improve quality of stock even with added financial constraints.
“It’s encouraging to see the direction of travel for EPC ratings, however there is still more to do to meet government’s target for all homes to achieve an EPC rating of at least band C by 2030. The increase in damp issues is also worrying, particularly given the increased focused the sector, but the implementation of Awaab’s Law to extend existing safety rules may help to drive this down. There’s evidently a large disparity between the private rented sector and social housing in terms of category 1 hazards, but we anticipate this gap will close as the Renters’ Right Bill will offer greater rights and protections to people renting in the private sector.”
He added: “It’s important that social landlords continue to prioritise the quality of existing stock and tenants’ safety, but we’re continuing to see the demand for affordable housing outpace supply. Housing associations are under pressure to deliver more homes, however with the added costs of making homes safer and more efficient, organisations are scaling back on development plans, making the government’s mandatory targets unattainable. The National Planning Policy Framework will go some way to address this, but the sector also needs to take the foot front and invest in technology to improve productivity and deliver new homes.”

