Social housing in the borough
Kensington and Chelsea is one of the most popular areas to live in the UK, and one of the most densely populated boroughs in the country, with an estimated 143,400 people living here. There is a limited supply of social housing that becomes available each year compared to the significant demand for this.
The data below illustrates the challenges faced in meeting residents’ housing needs. The data shows that you are likely to have a much longer wait to be rehoused if you need a larger sized home.
- RBKC has the highest median house price across all London boroughs, with half of houses priced over £1.3 million in 2017 (Census 2021).
- In 2017 the average house price in the borough was £2.1 million, while in London this was £0.6 million and in England this was £0.3 million (Census 2021).
- About four-in-five properties in the borough are flats, compared to two-and-a-half-in-five for London and one-in-five for England (Census 2021).
- The Council owns 7,053 social housing properties (excluding ex-right-to-buy leaseholds), and there are 11,664 properties managed by other social housing providers in the borough (RBKC data, March 2023).
- 34% of homes in the borough are owner occupied; 22% are social rented (of which 35% are Council owned and 65% housing association owned); and 44% are private rented (Census 2021).
- There are more than 3,000 households on the Housing Register, including in excess of 1,800 households living in temporary accommodation – 75% of those are residing outside of the borough (RBKC data, March 2023).
- There are more than 2,000 households living in temporary accommodation (including those not on the Housing Register) – about 78% of those are residing outside of the borough (RBKC data, March 2023).
- In 2022/23 there were 401 social housing properties let through the Housing Register – this equates to 12% of households on the Housing Register being rehoused (RBKC data, March 2023).
- It took households on average four years to be rehoused through the Housing Register in 2022/23 (RBKC data, March 2023).
Total number of lettings through the Housing Register for the last five years
| Total number of lettings | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 341 | 447 | 395 | 409 | 401 |
Lettings for 2022/23
|
Property Owner |
Studio | 1 Bed | 2 Bed | 3 Bed | 4 Bed | 5 Bed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council | 42 | 64 | 48 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 182 |
| Housing Association | 24 | 117 | 56 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 219 |
| Total | 66 | 181 | 104 | 36 | 13 | 1 | 401 |
Rehousing by need totals 2022/23
| Category | Lettings |
|---|---|
| Homeless in TA | 161 |
| Exceptional Priority | 5 |
| Emergency Health | 5 |
| Risk of Harm | 11 |
| Wider Grenfell | 7 |
| Supporting Health | 42 |
| Under Occupation | 26 |
| Overcrowding | 19 |
| Move on priority | 66 |
| Other | 59 |
Demand on the Housing Register as of July 2023
| Priority (2017 Scheme categories) | Studio | 1 Bed | 2 Beds | 3 Beds | 4 Beds | 5 Beds | 6 Beds | 7 Beds | 9 Beds | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exceptional Priority | 6 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Emergency Health and Independence | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| At Risk of Serious Harm | 8 | 10 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| Grenfell Settled Home | 6 | 21 | 40 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 |
| Wider Grenfell | 8 | 12 | 14 | 22 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 |
| Supporting Health and Independence | 35 | 68 | 62 | 38 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 214 |
| Redevelopment of Homes | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Mobility Transfer Scheme | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Supporting Adoption and Fostering | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| TMO Tenants - Successions | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Under Occupation | 5 | 77 | 61 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 150 |
| Under Occupation - Split Tenancy Points | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Overcrowding | 0 | 0 | 32 | 40 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 95 |
| TMO - Contractual Duties | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Duty Accepted Homeless | 279 | 41 | 997 | 516 | 109 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1965 |
| Move on Eligibility | 67 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77 |
| Other Homeless | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Sheltered | 169 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 203 |
| Local Hardship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Under Investigation | 97 | 12 | 29 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159 |
| Grand Total | 704 | 313 | 1287 | 684 | 163 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3180 |
Average waiting times for social housing in RBKC 2022/23
| HML/NON HML | Studio | 1 Bed | 2 Beds | 3 Beds | 4 Beds | 5 Beds | Grand Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homeless | 2 year/s and 8 month/s | 3 year/s and 1 month/s | 6 year/s and 1 month/s | 9 year/s and 5 month/s | 11 year/s and 2 month/s | 17 year/s and 6 month/s | 5 year/s and 2 month/s |
| Non-Homeless | 2 year/s and 8 month/s | 2 year/s and 11 month/s | 4 year/s and 7 month/s | 2 year/s and 7 month/s | 3 year/s and 3 month/s | 0 year/s and 0 month/s | 3 year/s and 2 month/s |
| Grand Total | 2 year/s and 8 month/s | 3 year/s and 0 month/s | 5 year/s and 6 month/s | 5 year/s and 10 month/s | 7 year/s and 10 month/s | 17 year/s and 6 month/s | 4 year/s and 0 month/s |