File:A Century of Home Ownership and Renting in England and Wales 1918-2011.png

English: Over the last century, the structure of home ownership in England and Wales has changed. Policies and economic developments have transformed the tenure structure over the century from a largely renting to an owner occupier population. The last decade however has seen the first rise in the percentage of households renting, since 1918.

Key Points: • In 1918 the majority, or 77%, of households in England and Wales rented, with the remaining in ownership.

•From 1953 ownership started to increase at a faster rate than in previous decades and by 1971 there was an equal percentage of households owning and renting.

•Ownership continued to increase, reaching a peak of 69% in 2001, however in the last decade it has fallen to 64%.

•Within the rental sector policies following the World Wars impacted on the percentage of those socially renting. In 1918 just 1% of households socially rented and this reached a peak of 31% in 1981.

•Between 2001 and 2011, the number of households buying their homes through a mortgage fell by 749,000. Some factors that might have impacted on mortgage buyers are: high house prices, low wage growth and tighter lending requirements.

•The percentage of households renting increased in all English regions and in Wales in the decade to 2011. London had the highest percentage of renters, accounting for 50.4% of households in the region.

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census-analysis/a-century-of-home-ownership-and-renting-in-england-and-wales/short-story-on-housing.html