Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the number of people on waiting lists for social housing in (1) rural, and (2) urban, areas in the last 10 years have increased or declined.

The number of households on local authority housing registers (commonly known as social housing waiting lists) in England, including breakdowns by regions, is available each year since 1987 in live table 600 on gov.uk here.

Using the Office for National Statistics’ 2021 rural-urban classification for the 2024 geography in England, which can be found here, it is possible to present sub-national trends in rural and urban areas.

On 31 March 2025, there were 1,340,527 households on local authorities housing registers in England, a 7% increase compared to 31 March 2015. Of these, 230,200 households were classified as rural and 1,110,327 were classified as urban. These figures represent a 1% and 8% increase compared to 31 March 2025.

The number of households on housing registers (waiting lists) is not the same as the number of households waiting.

Local authorities periodically review their registers to remove households who no longer require housing, so the total number of households on housing registers may overstate the number of households who still require social housing at any one time. Housing register size may also be affected by other factors. For example, there is the potential for some households to be on the housing register of more than one local authority.

The frequency of reviews varies between local authorities.