Households in Scotland by housing tenure: Scottish Household Survey, 2023
This publication describes some of the data collected through the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) broken down by housing tenure. Topics covered include households by tenure, characteristics of households by tenure, housing satisfaction by tenure and the number of households on social housing waiting lists.
Characteristics of households by tenure
Figure 1: Household characteristics broken down by housing tenure, Scotland, 2023
|
Owner occupied |
Private rented |
Social rented |
Other |
All |
|
|
Number of households |
1,610,000 |
330,000 |
570,000 |
20,000 |
2,535,310 |
|
Age of the highest income householder (Table 1.13) |
|||||
|
16 to 34 |
12% |
52% |
19% |
30% |
19% |
|
35 to 59 |
43% |
37% |
45% |
27% |
42% |
|
60 or over |
46% |
11% |
36% |
43% |
39% |
|
Ethnicity of the random adult (Table 1.24) |
|||||
|
White: Scottish |
77% |
51% |
79% |
77% |
74% |
|
White: Other British |
14% |
15% |
7% |
13% |
13% |
|
White: Other (inc. polish) |
5% |
15% |
7% |
3% |
7% |
|
Minority Ethnic Groups (inc. Asian) |
3% |
20% |
7% |
7% |
6% |
|
Whether the household has someone with a long-term physical or mental health condition or illness (Table 1.43) |
|||||
|
No |
66% |
73% |
41% |
53% |
61% |
|
Yes |
34% |
27% |
59% |
47% |
39% |
|
Economic status (Table 1.25) of the random adult |
|||||
|
Self employed |
7% |
7% |
2% |
5% |
6% |
|
Employed full time |
44% |
51% |
28% |
26% |
42% |
|
Employed part time |
10% |
8% |
9% |
7% |
9% |
|
Looking after the home or family |
2% |
5% |
8% |
8% |
4% |
|
Permanently retired from work |
30% |
6% |
20% |
34% |
25% |
|
Unemployed and seeking work |
1% |
4% |
7% |
5% |
3% |
|
At school |
1% |
1% |
1% |
2% |
1% |
|
In further/higher education |
3% |
14% |
5% |
5% |
4% |
|
Gov. work or training scheme |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
|
Household type (Table 1.12) |
|||||
|
Single adult |
15% |
38% |
32% |
28% |
22% |
|
Small adult |
20% |
27% |
13% |
11% |
19% |
|
Single parent |
2% |
7% |
11% |
6% |
5% |
|
Small family |
14% |
12% |
8% |
9% |
12% |
|
Large family |
4% |
4% |
5% |
8% |
4% |
|
Large adult |
10% |
5% |
6% |
5% |
9% |
|
Older smaller |
19% |
3% |
6% |
10% |
14% |
|
Single pensioner |
16% |
4% |
22% |
24% |
16% |
Household characteristics vary by housing tenure, as presented in Figure 1. When comparing the owner occupied, private rented, and social rented households, variations in 2023 include:
- the age of the highest income householder tended to be higher in owner occupied households (46% reported being 60 or over) compared with private rented households (11% reported being 60 or over).
- 20% of adults in the private rented sector reported being in a minority ethnic group, compared with 3% in owner occupied households.
- 59% households in the social rented sector reported having someone with a long-term physical or mental health condition or illness compared with 27% in the private rented sector.
- 66% of random adults in households in the private rented sector reported self-employment or (part or full time) employment compared with 39% in the social rented sector. There was a higher proportion of random adults unemployed and looking for work in social rented households (7%) compared with other tenures. There was a higher proportion of random adults retired from work in owner occupied households (30%) compared with other housing tenures.
- 23% of households in social rented and private rented sector households had a child in it, compared with 21% in owner occupied households. This figure varies by tenure if you look at further breakdowns of single parent households, small and large family households. For example, 11% of social rented households have single parents in compared with 2% in owner occupied households. Please refer to the glossary for more information on household type definitions.
Chart 3: Length of time in current property by housing tenure, 2023
Note:
- Underlying data can be sourced in Table 1.26 in the supporting documents.
Chart 3 shows that 56% of households in the private rented sector have been in their property for 2 years or less. This compared with 16% of owner-occupied households and 24% in social rented households. These proportions have changed over time, as illustrated for private rented sector households (71% in 1999/2000 to 57% in 2023) in Table 1.69 in the supporting documents.
Chart 4: Financial mangement by housing tenure, 2023
Note:
- Underlying data can be sourced in Table 1.71 in the supporting documents
Chart 4 shows that 26% of households in the social rented sector report managing well financially, compared with 60% of households in owner occupied households and 38% of privately rented households. ‘Gets by’ was the most common answer to how households are managing financially for households in the social (55%) and private rented (50%) housing tenure. Whereas, for households in owner occupied households the most common answer was manages well.
Contact
housing.statistics@gov.scot
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