Revealed: 128,000 families in social housing earn more than £71k

Telegraph

02-07-2025

Almost 130,000 households in taxpayer-subsidised homes are among the top earners in the country, Telegraph analysis shows.
Official figures reveal that 3.2pc of those renting from local authorities and housing associations earned at least £71,344 last year.
It represents approximately 128,000 of the four million social housing households in England between 2023 and 2024. Some 315,000 were found to earn at least £46,176 a year.
The average household income in the UK is £55,000 per year, according to the most recent government data.
There were 1.3 million households awaiting a social housing placement as of March 2024, up 3pc in a year – and the highest it has been since 2014.
The figures, published in the annual English Housing Survey, an official data bank, suggest the proportion of social housing households on the highest incomes has grown in recent years.
Between 2015 and 2016, the research placed 2.7pc of social housing renters in the top group of earners – this figure has now climbed to 3.2pc.
Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, said: 'With over a million households on the social housing waiting list, it's impossible to justify high earners remaining in taxpayer-subsidised homes.
'Government subsidies should be focused on those in greatest need. Social housing exists as a safety net, and resources should be targeted at the poorest to ensure the system remains fair and effective.'
Between 2023 to 2024, social housing tenants paid 55pc of the weekly median market rate of a property in England, according to official figures. In London, weekly social housing rents are 40pc of those paid by private renters.
Weekly median social housing rent in England was £107 last year, while private renters paid £196. In London, prices were £346 a week and £140 a week respectively.
A household earning £71,344 a year would therefore spend around 11pc of their take-home pay on an average social housing rent in England. If they were in the private rental sector, they would spend almost double, 20pc, on rent.
Today, the vast majority of households in social housing were in the lowest category of earners in the country. Just over 47pc of social housing households earned as little as £76 a week, while 27.6pc earned at least £360 a week.
Applicants for taxpayer-subsidised housing must provide details of their income when applying to live in a property, but are not typically disqualified from living there if they earn more later.
Critics have long argued the loophole means those who need social housing are kept waiting for longer, currently seven years on average for a family-sized home in England, according to the National Housing Federation, while top earners keep hold of the cheaper housing.
Lifetime tenancies, also known as secure housing placements, are offered as the default by almost all local authorities after a botched Tory bid to scrap them.
In 2012, a coalition government gave local authorities the discretion to not offer lifetime tenancies. However, take-up among councils was low.
The Conservatives went further by trying to scrap them altogether in 2015, but eventually shelved the plans.
So-called 'Pay to Stay' rules, that would have seen higher earners pay more to continue living in social housing, were also proposed by former chancellor, George Osborne, in 2016, but were never enforced.
Secure tenancies remain the predominant form of council housing today. Lifetime tenancies made up 89.9pc of new council lettings in the year ending March 2024, according to official figures.
A government spokesman said: 'It is up to individual councils to make housing decisions based on people's needs – but higher earning tenants make up just 3pc of the overall social housing population.
'Our focus is on taking action to deliver our stretching target of 1.5 million homes, including the biggest boost to affordable and social housing in a generation – backed by £39bn – to tackle the housing crisis we've inherited head on and give more families a safe, secure home.'
A spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents UK councils, said: 'We are facing a housing crisis, and councils need to be empowered to build more affordable, good quality homes quickly and at scale. Individual council have policies on how to allocate social housing.
'These are in line with priority need and relevant legislation, and response to changes in circumstance are for individual authorities to outline in their housing policies.'