Social Tenants in Scotland 2015

Section 3 – Characteristics of Social Tenants

3.1 Household composition

The Scottish Household Survey collects information on household compositions. Based on the categories defined in the survey, the most common types of social rented households in 2015 were single working age adult households (31%) and single pensioner households (18%), as shown in Chart 3.1 below.

Household types used in the Scottish Household Survey:

Single pensioner household consists of one adult of pensionable age (65+ for women, and 65+ for men) and no children

Single parent household contains an adult and one or more children.

Single adult household consists of an adult of non-pensionable age and no children.

Older smaller household contains either (a) an adult of non-pensionable age and an adult of pensionable age and no children or (b) two adults of pensionable age and no children.

Large adult household has three or more adults and no children.

Small adult household contains two adults of non-pensionable age and no children.

Large family household consists of either (a) two adults and three or more children or (b) three or more adults and one or more children.

Small family households consist of two adults and one or two children.

Note that this definition changed slightly in 2015 compared to previous years, with the 65 years cut-off applied for pensioner age

However there has been some change over time in these percentages, with the proportion of single working age adult households in social rented housing growing from 18% in 1999 to 31% in 2015. The proportion of single pensioner households has dropped over the same time period from 25% in 1999 to 18% in 2015. The percentage of older smaller households has also dropped from 12% in 1999 to 7% in 2015. (See Chart 3.1 below).

In 2015, 10% of social rented households were single parent families, 9% were small families and 5% were large families.

Households with a single adult member (single parent, single working age adult or single pensioner) accounted for 59% of all social rented households in 2015.

Chart 3.1: Household composition of social rented households, 1999, 2007 and 2015

Chart 3.2 below shows that local authority and housing association households had similar profiles of household composition categories in 2015.

Chart 3.2: Household composition of social rented households, 2015

Table 3.1 below shows how household compositions varied between different tenures in 2015. Social rented households in 2015 had a similar percentage of single parent families (10%) to private rented households (9%). Likewise, social rented households also had a similar percentage of single working age adult households (31%) to private rented households (33%).

However social rented households had a higher proportion of older households (26%) compared with private rented households (7%) and had a lower percentage of small working age adult households (12%) compared with private rented households (29%).

Owned outright households were characterised by a large proportion (60%) of older households.

39% of households buying with a mortgage were households with children; a percentage higher than other tenures.

Table 3.1: Households types by tenure, 2015 (column percentages)

	Social Sector	Owned Outright	Buying with Mortgage	Private Rent	All households
Households with Children
Single parent	10	1	4	9	5
Small family	9	3	25	12	12
Large family	5	2	10	5	5
Working age adult households
Single adult	31	10	16	33	20
Small adult	12	15	27	29	20
Large adult	7	9	12	7	9
Older households
Single pensioner	18	27	3	4	15
Older smaller	7	32	3	3	13
All	100	100	100	100	100
Base	2354	3545	2964	1332	10325

Source: Scottish Household Survey data

The Department for Communities and Local Government ( DCLG) English Housing Survey 2010 ^[8] collected information on household compositions in England. This used slightly different household composition categories, so it is not possible to compare proportions for each household category. However from the DCLG results it can be seen that 17% of social rented households in England in 2014/15 were single parents (categorised as "lone parent, dependent children"), a figure which was higher than the equivalent 10% figure for Scotland in 2015.

From the Scottish Household Survey it is possible to identify households in which an adult has moved into that address within the last 12 months. This can be used as an indicator of newly formed social households, although this will include changes to existing household compositions as well as new social housing lets.

For social rented households in which an adult had moved into the property within the last 12 months, the proportion that were single adult households has grown from 22% in 1999 to 2003 to 29% in 2012 to 2015. Of the social rented households in 2012 to 2015 in which an adult had moved into the property within the last 12 months, only 9% were single pensioners. This compares to 18% of all social rented households being single pensioners, and indicates that newly formed social households are less likely to contain single pensioner households when compared with more established social rented households.

Chart 3.3: Composition of social households, where adult has moved into address in the last year

3.2 Age

Social rented households in Scotland in 2015 contained adults across a range of age categories (as measured by highest income householder), with 28% having a highest income householder aged 45 to 59 years, 21% having a highest income householder aged 60 to 74 years, and 17% having a highest income householder aged 35 to 44 years.

The proportion of households in social rented housing in Scotland containing a highest income householder in the age group 45 to 59 years has grown from 21% in 1999 to 28% in 2015.

The average age of the highest income householder in social rented housing in 2015 was 51 years, a decrease from 53 years in 1999.

Chart 3.4: Age of social renters (by highest income householder), 1999, 2007 and 2015

Local authority and housing association households in Scotland had a similar profile of households by age in 2015, with both having an average age of highest income householder of 51 years.

Chart 3.5: Age of social renters (by highest income householder) 2015, by social landlord

Chart 3.6 below shows how the age profile of social renters compared to other tenures in 2015. Private rented households were more likely to contain a highest income householder aged 16 to 24 years (19%) or 25 to 34 years (38%) compared to other tenures.

Households buying with a mortgage were more likely to contain a highest income householder aged 35 to 44 years (28%) or 45 to 59 years (42%). Households owned outright were more likely to contain a highest income householder aged 60 to 74 years (45%) or 75 years and over (27%).

Chart 3.6: Age of households (by highest income householder) 2015, by tenure

The age profile of social renters in Scotland in 2015 appears to be broadly similar to the age profile of social renters in England, as measured by the DCLG English Housing Survey for 2014/15 (see Chart 3.7 below). However note that there could be some differences between the two respective surveys in how the highest income / household reference people are identified within families, which may impact on the comparison.

Chart 3.7: Age of social renters in latest year (by highest income/household reference person), Scotland (2015) and England (2014/15)

When looking solely at social rented households in which an adult has moved into the property within the last 12 months (which includes new-lets as well as changes to existing household compositions), there are higher proportions of younger aged households than compared to all social households.

For example in the latest period (2012 to 2015), 14% of social rented households with an adult moving into that address in the last 12 months were in the 16 to 24 age group and 23% were in the 25 to 34 age group, which compares to 6% and 15% of all social rented households, respectively.

This would suggest that newly formed social households are more likely to contain younger households than more established social rented households.

Chart 3.8: Social rented household ages, 2015 - households where an adult has moved into the address within the last 12 months

3.3 Gender

The proportion of social rented households with a female highest income householder increased from 50% in 1999 to 55% in 2007, and remained at a similar level of 55% in 2015.

Chart 3.9: Gender of social renters (by highest income householder), 1999, 2007 and 2015

Local authority and housing association households had similar proportions of female highest income householder in 2015 (54% and 57% respectively).

Chart 3.10: Gender of social renters (by highest income householder) 2015, by social landlord

Social rented households in Scotland in 2015 had a higher proportion of female highest income householders (55%) than private rented households (43%), households with the property bought with a mortgage (35%) and households where the property was owned outright (40%).

Chart 3.11: Gender of households (by highest income householder) 2015, by tenure

Results from the DCLG English Housing Survey for 2014/15 indicate that England had a similar percentage of females within social rented households, with 58% of social rented households having a female household reference person compared to 55% female highest income householders in Scotland in 2015. Note however that there may be some differences between the two survey in how the highest income / household reference people have been identified within families in the two respective surveys, which may impact on any comparisons.

When looking solely at social rented households in Scotland in which an adult has moved into the address within the last 12 months (which includes new-lets as well as changes to existing household compositions), it can be seen that there has been an increasing proportion of female highest income householders moving into social rented housing addresses from 1999 to 2003 (48%) to 2012 to 2015 (54%), which broadly follows the same increase seen in all social rented households (50% in 1999 to 55% in 2015).

Chart 3.12: Social rented household gender profiles, 2015, households where an adult has moved into the address within the last 12 months

3.4 Economic status of adults – Scottish Household Survey data

The Scottish Household survey collects information on the economic status of adults within households. Based on the categories defined by the survey, the most common types of economic status of adults within social rented housing in 2015 were employed full time (24%) and retired from work (22%).

However there has been some changes in these percentages over time, with the percentage of adults in social rented housing employed full time increasing from 19% in 1999 to 24% in 2015. The percentage of adults in social rented housing who were retired from work fell from 29% in 1999 to 22% in 2015.

In 2015, 13% of adults in social rented housing were permanently sick or disabled and 9% were unemployed and seeking work.

Chart 3.13: Economic Status of social renters (random adult in household), 1999, 2007 and 2015

Chart 3.14 below shows that the economic status of adults was similar across local authority and housing association properties in 2015.

Chart 3.14: Economic Status of social renters (random adult in household) 2015, by social landlord

Chart 3.15 below shows the economic status of adults in social housing compared to other tenures for the year 2015. It can be seen that 58% of adults in households buying with a mortgage were employed full time, compared to 44% of adults renting privately, 24% of adults in social rented households and 22% of adults in owned outright households.

However the percentage of households with an adult working part-time was similar across all tenure groups (14% for households buying with a mortgage, 12% for social rented households, 9% for private rented households and 8% for owned outright households).

Social rented households were more likely to have an adult permanently sick or disabled (13%) in 2015 than all other tenures – private rented households (2%), households buying their property with a mortgage (1%), and households owning their property outright (2%).

Social rented households were also more likely to have an adult looking after the home or family (10%) or be unemployed and seeking work (9%) compared with households buying their property with a mortgage (4% and 2% respectively), and households owning their property outright (2% and 1% respectively).

Private rented households were more likely to have an adult in further or higher education (18%) compared to other tenures. Whilst households owned outright were more likely to have an adult permanently retired from work (56%).

Chart 3.15: Economic Status of social renters (random adult in household) 2015, by tenure

When looking solely at social rented households in which an adult had moved into the property within the last 12 months in 2012 to 2015 (which includes new-lets as well as changes to existing household compositions), 21% of adults were unemployed, an increase from 16% in 1999 to 2003. The figure of 21% is a higher value than the equivalent proportion of adults unemployed across all social rented households in 2015 (9%), and suggests that newly formed social households are more likely to contain unemployed adults than compared with more established social rented households.

Chart 3.16: Social rented households - economic status of adults - households where an adult has moved into the address within the last 12 months

3.5 Economic status of households – Family Resources Survey data

The Family Resources Survey provides a different way of looking at the economic status of households based on a categorisation of the family unit into working or workless categories, and it also allows a comparison of figures to households in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Chart 3.17 below shows the economic status profile for households in local authority, housing association and private rented sector households over the period 2012/13 to 2014/15. The "workless, other inactive" category includes the long-term sick, disabled, and non-working single parents ^[9] .

It can be seen that the household economic status profile is broadly similar between local authority and housing association households.

The most common economic status categories for social rented households over the period 2012/13 to 2014/15 were "workless, head of spouse aged 60 or over" (33%) and "workless, other inactive" (22%). Over a third (36%) of households in the private rented sector contained adults who were all in full time work (either a single adult household or a couple household), compared to 16% of households in social rented accommodation.

Chart 3.17: Economic status of rented households in Scotland, 2012/13 to 2014/15

Chart 3.18 below shows the economic status profile of households in the social sector in Scotland in 2012/13 to 2014/15 compared to households that were owned with a mortgage or owned outright.

The main economic status within the social sector was "workless, with a head of house or spouse aged 60 or over", with a third (33%) of social rented households being in this category. This compares to 58% of households that were owned outright being in this older-aged economic category. The chart also suggests that the social sector includes a broader range of economic statuses than households that are owned outright, reflecting the diverse age bands seen in the social sector (see section 3.2).

The "workless, other inactive" group accounted for over a fifth (22%) of social sector households, compared to 2% of households that were owned outright and 1% that were owned with a mortgage.

Chart 3.18: Economic status of households by tenure in Scotland, 2012/13 to 2014/15

The percentage of social rented households in each economic category, for the other UK countries is shown in Chart 3.19. Proportions were broadly similar for each country across each category.

Chart 3.19: Economic status of social rented households by country, 2012/13 to 2014/15

Table 3.2: Proportion of households by economic status, for each tenure and country, 2012/13 to 2014/15

	Workless, head or spouse aged 60 or over	Workless, other inactive	Single / couple all in full time work	No full time, one or more part time	Workless head or spouse unemployed	Couple, one full time one not working	Couple/one in full time, one part time	One or more self employed	All	Base
Social Rented Housing
Scotland	33	22	16	10	7	6	4	3	100	2,150
England	33	22	14	11	6	6	4	3	100	7,790
Wales	36	26	13	10	6	5	3	2	100	440
Private Rented Sector
Scotland	12	15	36	13	3	7	7	7	100	1,210
England	8	12	38	11	4	9	8	10	100	6,680
Wales	13	22	31	9	5	8	6	6	100	370
Owned with Mortgage
Scotland	4	1	49	5	1	9	18	13	100	2,540
England	3	2	45	5	1	11	19	14	100	12,750
Wales	3	2	49	6	0	9	18	13	100	690
Owned Outright
Scotland	58	2	12	8	0	7	6	7	100	2,960
England	58	2	10	11	0	6	6	6	100	14,920
Wales	56	3	14	8	0	6	4	8	100	1,040

Source: Family Resources Survey

3.6 Ethnicity

The Scottish Household Survey asks respondents about their ethnicity. This question has been asked in its current form since 2013.

In the period 2013 to 2015, 86% of adults in social rented households stated they were 'White Scottish', 7% of adults stated they were 'White Other British', 2% said they were 'White Polish', 2% stated they were 'White Other', 1% said they were 'Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British', 1% said they were 'African, Caribbean or Black', and 1% said they were another ethnic group.

Chart 3.20: Ethnicity of adults in social rented households, 2013 to 2015, by landord

It can be seen that local authority rented households had a higher percentage of 'White Scottish' adults (87%) compared with housing association rented households (84%), although this difference is only marginally statistically significant.

Chart 3.21 below shows how the ethnicity of adults in social rented households in 2013 to 2015 compared to other tenures. Social rented households had the highest proportion of 'White Scottish' adults at 86%, a similar percentage figure to the equivalent figures for adults buying with a mortgage (81%) and adults in households owned outright (82%). Private rented households had a much lower percentage of 'White Scottish' adults at 57%. Social rented households had the lowest proportion of 'White Other British' adults (7%), compared to private rented (16%), buying with a mortgage (12%) or owned outright tenures (15%).

Chart 3.21: Ethnicity of adults, 2013 to 2015, by tenure

When looking solely at social rented households in which an adult had moved into the property within the last 12 months between 2013 and 2015 (which includes new-lets as well as changes to existing household compositions), 80% of adults stated that they were 'White Scottish'. This was lower than the equivalent figure for all social rented households (86%), and may suggest that newly formed social rented households are slightly more likely to contain adults who are not 'White Scottish' compared with more established social rented households.

Chart 3.22: Social rented households - ethnicity of adults - where an adult has moved into the address within the last 12 months, 2013 to 2015

3.7 Country of birth ^[10]

The Scottish Household Survey also asks respondents about their country of birth, and this question has been asked in its current form since 2013.

In the period from 2013 to 2015, 87% of adults in social rented households were born in Scotland, 5% of adults stated that they were born in England, 4% said they were born in the EU (excluding UK and Ireland), 3% said they were born in the Rest of the World ( i.e. outside Europe), with the remaining 1% being born in other areas.

Chart 3.23: Country of Birth of adults in social rented households, 2013 to 2015 - by social landord

It can be seen that the percentages are similar between local authority and housing association households for each country of birth category, however housing association households had a slightly lower proportion of adults born in Scotland (85%) compared with local authority households (88%), and have a slightly higher percentage of adults born in the Rest of the World ( i.e. outside Europe) (4%) than with local authority households (1%), although these differences are only marginally statistically significant.

Chart 3.24 below shows how the country of birth of adults in social rented households in 2013 to 2015 compares to other tenures. Social rented households had 87% of adults born in Scotland, a similar percentage to adults in households buying with a mortgage (83%) and owned outright (85%). Social rented households also had a lower proportion of adults born in England (5%) when compared to households renting privately (13%), buying with a mortgage (9%) and owned outright (11%).

Private rented households had a much smaller proportion of adults born in Scotland (58%) when compared to other tenure categories. Within private rented households, 13% of adults were born in England, 11% were born in the Rest of the World ( i.e. outside Europe), 9% were born in the New EU (2004 to 2013), and 5% were born in the Old EU.

Chart 3.24: Country of Birth of adults, 2013 to 2015, by tenure

When looking solely at social rented households in which an adult has moved into the property within the last 12 months between 2013 and 2015 (which includes new-lets as well as changes to existing household compositions), 80% of adults were born in Scotland and 8% of adults were born in the New EU (2004 to 2013). These figures differ to the equivalent proportions for all social rented households in the latest year (87% and 3% respectively), and may suggest that newly formed social households are slightly more likely to contain adults born in the New EU than established social households.

Chart 3.25: Social rented households - country of birth of adults - where an adult has moved into the address within the last 12 months, 2013 to 2015

3.8 Disability

The Scottish Household Survey asks respondents about their disability in terms of whether they have a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last 12 months or more. This question has been asked in its current form since 2013.

In 2015, 45% of adults in social rented housing stated that they had a disability on this basis, a similar figure to the previous two years.

Chart 3.26: Disability of adults in social rented households, 2013 to 2015 (defined as a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last 12 months or more)

There were a similar percentage of housing association respondents indicating a disability in 2015, with 47% of adults living in housing association properties reporting a disability compared with 43% of adults in local authority properties.

Chart 3.27: Disability of adults in social rented households, 2015 (defined as a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last 12 months or more)

In 2015, 45% of adults in social rented housing reported having a disability in 2015, a figure much higher than the proportion of adults with a disability in private rented accommodation (18%) and adults buying with a mortgage (17%), and also higher than the equivalent figure for adults living in owned outright properties (34%).

Chart 3.28: Disability of adults, 2015, by tenure (defined as a physical or mental health condition or illness lasting or expected to last 12 months or more)

When looking solely at social rented households in which an adult had moved into the property within the last 12 months (which includes new-lets as well as changes to existing household compositions), there was a lower proportion of adults recording a disability (37%) than compared with the entire social rented sector (45%). This may possibly reflect a younger cohort of households entering social housing compared to established social rented households, given that age is likely to be correlated to disability and health to some extent.

Chart 3.29: Social rented households - whether adult has recorded disability - where an adult has moved into the address within the last 12 months, 2013 to 2015

3.9 Overcrowding and under-occupation

Information on whether households are overcrowded or under-occupied is reported through the Scottish House Condition Survey which is based on a module of the Scottish Household Survey.

The survey assesses a dwelling to be overcrowded or under-occupied by using the "bedroom standard" as defined in the Housing (Overcrowding) Bill ^[11] , which takes into account the number of bedrooms available in the dwelling and the type of the household that occupies it. Some landlords in the social sector may use different definitions. The bedroom standard provides an objective and consistent measurement of overcrowding which may sometimes differ from subjective measures, for example people who live in houses that are classed as overcrowded may not necessarily perceive there to be a shortage of space.

The bedroom standard is defined in the Housing (Overcrowding) Bill based on the number of bedrooms in a dwelling and the people in a household who can share a bedroom. Under the bedroom standard, each of the following groups or individuals requires a separate bedroom:

• Any couple;
• a person aged 21 years or more;
• two people of the same sex aged between 10 and 20;
• two children (whether of the same sex or not) under 10 years;
• two people of the same sex where one person is aged between 10 years and 20 years and the other is aged less than 10 years;
• any further person who cannot be paired appropriately.

Requirements for bedrooms under the bedroom standard should not be confused with criteria for the removal of the spare room subsidy. Applying the rules of the spare room subsidy is not possible based on the information collected in the Scottish House Condition Survey Module.

Chart 3.30 below shows the profile of overcrowding and under-occupancy by tenure for the year 2015. The percentage of households that were overcrowded was similar across households in local authorities (6%), housing associations (4%), private rented (4%), owned with a mortgage or owned outright (2% and 1%, respectively).

Around a third of local authority (38%) and housing association (33%) households in Scotland were under-occupied, meaning that they had at least 1 more room than the minimum requirement under the bedroom standard. This percentage was lower than equivalent figures for households in the private rented sector (53%), households bought with a mortgage (73%), and households that were owned outright (89%).

Chart 3.30: Bedroom standards by tenure, 2015

Table 3.3 below shows that the percentage of households that were overcrowded for new social tenants ( i.e. where one of the residents had moved into the house in the past year), along with the private sector and owner occupiers. Samples over the 4 year period from 2012 to 2015 have been used for the purposes of statistical reliability. There is some evidence to suggest that new social sector households were more likely to be overcrowded than households where all adults had lived at the address for more than 1 year. An estimated 9% of social sector households where an adult had moved in the past year were overcrowded, compared with 5% of all social sector households.

Table 3.3: Percentage of households overcrowded under bedroom standards definition, 2012 to 2015

	All households		Less than 1 year at current address		More than 1 year at current address
	% overcrowded	Sample size	% overcrowded	Sample size	% overcrowded	Sample size
Social Sector	5	2,670	9	440	4	2,230
Private rent	4	1,210	6	520	3	690
Owner Occupier	2	6,900	4	640	2	6,260

Source: Scottish Household Survey House Condition Module

Chart 3.31 below shows that overcrowding in social rented housing sector was more common amongst large family ^[12] households (33% overcrowded) than other household types.

Chart 3.31: Social rented households - overcrowded under the bedroom standard, 2012 to 2015

Chart 3.32 below shows that, in the social sector, higher rates of overcrowded households were seen when the highest income householder was aged 25-34 than in the 65-74 age group.

See the box in Section 3.1 for an explanation of the different household type groups.

Chart 3.32: Social rented households overcrowded under the bedroom standard, 2012 to 2015