English housing stock has lifted 2.1 million properties, or 9%, to 25.4 million over the past decade, however over half of owner-occupied properties are classed as under-occupied, with two or extra spare bedrooms.
Around 53% of properties had been labelled as under-occupied in 2023, in line with a Nationwide report, which jumps to 87% of owner-occupied properties in England which have not less than one spare bed room.
“The proportion of under-occupied properties has been trending up over time,” the examine provides.
By distinction, within the personal rented sector, solely 16% of properties are under-occupied, says the mutual’s survey: Lock, stock and new photo voltaic panels: the altering face of housing stock.
In the social rented sector, “overcrowding is extra of a priority”, says the examine, with 8% of properties labeled as overcrowded — households are classed as overcrowded if they’ve fewer bedrooms obtainable than the notional quantity wanted, in line with the bed room customary definition.
Trinity Financial merchandise and communications director Aaron Strutt says: “The authorities actually must do extra to incentivise owners to let a spare room. It is complete insanity that there’s a lot speak of a scarcity of new properties being constructed when many individuals have two or three spare bedrooms.
“If the Chancellor [Rachel Reeves] goes to announce modifications to stamp obligation and add taxes for owners within the finances, there actually needs to be some consideration for the enormous quantity of spare rooms obtainable.
“Tempting extra individuals to let a room to somebody appropriate would additionally assist councils already struggling to deal with their housing payments.”
The report additionally finds that there’s “important variation” in inexperienced credentials throughout completely different tenure varieties.
It says that vitality effectivity “is usually a lot better within the social rented sector, due partially to tighter regulation”.
It factors out that 72% of properties within the social rented sector have an vitality efficiency certificates ranking of A to C, in contrast with 48% within the personal rented sector.
The owner-occupier sector is broadly just like personal rented, with 49% rated A to C.
The survey says: “Over the previous 10 years, vitality effectivity has improved throughout the stock because of the upper effectivity rankings of newly constructed properties and the enhancements carried out on many present properties, corresponding to loft and cavity wall insulation.”
It provides that inexperienced applied sciences corresponding to air supply warmth pumps “are anticipated to play a higher position in future” in phrases of bettering the effectivity of the housing stock.
But the report factors out that “these are at present fairly a uncommon characteristic, with solely 276,000 dwellings in England utilizing a warmth pump as the first heating system — 1.1% of complete stock.
“A better proportion of rural dwellings have a warmth pump, 7.6%, in comparison with city, 0.5% of dwellings, which most likely displays extra restricted entry to mains gasoline networks.”
The uptake of photo voltaic panels is brighter, the examine says.
There are 1.5 million properties in England with photovoltaic photo voltaic panels — almost 6% of dwellings. Over 15% of properties constructed within the final 10 years have a photovoltaic panel.
The survey provides: “Another characteristic that’s prone to turn into extra widespread over time is entry to electrical car charging. Currently, 1.8 million properties have entry to an electrical car cost level — round 7% of the entire stock.
“Again, this tends to be a characteristic of extra just lately constructed properties, with round 20% of dwellings constructed post-2012 getting access to an electrical car cost level.”
