The ONS, which is the UK's Office for National Statistics, counted households in England and Wales on Census Day, 21 March 2021. It found that 37.3 percent of households rented their home, which is 9.3 million households. In 2011 the figure was 34.3 percent, or 8.0 million households. Overall, more people are renting their living space today than in the previous decade.

The ONS says that 20.3 percent of households, or 5.0 million, rented privately in 2021. In 2011 the figure was 16.7 percent, or 3.9 million. This steady increase reveals that private landlords are now taking care of a significantly bigger portion of local residents across both countries.

The social rented sector was a little smaller than before. In 2021, 17.1 percent of households, or 4.2 million, were in it, and in 2011 the figure was 17.6 percent. Home owners made up 62.5 percent of households, or 15.5 million, down from 64.3 percent in 2011. While ownership still represents the majority, its proportion has clearly fallen.

Among the regions of England, London had the lowest share of home owners, 46.8 percent. London also had the highest share of households that rented privately, 30.0 percent, and the highest share in the social rented sector, 23.1 percent. Living with flatmates or paying rent to a landlord is therefore far more common in the capital than anywhere else.