Number of private rented households in England 2000-2020

The number of households occupied by private renters in the England from 2000 to 2020 saw an increase in the first half, only to decline again, from a total of just over two million households in 2000 to a total of 4.55 million households as of 2019. However, in the final year, 2020, the number of households occupied by private renters dropped to 4.44 million. The largest number of privately rented households in England during the period under observation were found in the year 2017, when households occupied by private renters made up over one fifth (20.3 percent) of total households in England.

While around 18.7 percent of dwellings in England were occupied by private renters in 2020, around 16.7 percent of dwellings were occupied by social renters. This amounts to almost 4 million social renters in 2020.