Social rent is defined as low cost rent set in place by a government formula, that is paid to registered providers and local authorities. Hence, the rent is significantly lower than normal market rent which landlords base their rent off. [1] It was reported in 2022 that 16% of the households in England live in social housing which is 4.1 million homes. In contrast to this, 4.9 million households rented their property from a private landlord, accounting for 20% of all households in England. This implies an imbalance between the two markets with social housing being the smallest. [2]
Now this scheme began in the aftermath of World War One, where councils began providing public housing due to the Addison Act in 1919. [3] Since then, the scheme has been changed and updated with its latest change in April 2023 to cap rent increases to 7%. [4] However, not everyone is eligible for social housing as it is mainly targeted for less fortunate families and individuals. Therefore, it’s worth considering a provider that charges affordable or intermediate rent if you are not eligible.
References
[3] https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5801/cmselect/cmcomloc/173/17305.htm
