18.6m spare room surplus could be the solution to Britain’s broken housing market

April 23, 2019

Research by leading room share platform, ideal flatmate, has looked at the excess number of spare rooms across the UK and how this surplus could address the UK’s property stock shortage.

Using data from Twenty CI, ideal flatmate found that there are 30.5m dwellings in the UK, home to a total of 84.4m bedrooms.

According to the ONS, the current UK population is 65.7m which means as a nation, we already have a surplus of 28% or 18.6m spare rooms and that’s assuming that on a very top level, one person occupied one bedroom although the reality is that this surplus is likely to be much higher.

This surplus is highest in the capital, where there’s an oversupply of 67% between the number of bedrooms compared to the population.

The second largest oversupply is in Wales, where there’s a 38% difference in the number of rooms available to the local population.

The lowest ratio is in the South East, but with an additional 1,384,293 spare rooms, the oversupply ratio is still 15%.

You also have a better chance of not getting refused house insurance by living in this type of affordable accommodation.

Tom Gatzen, Co-founder of ideal flatmate, commented:

“The lack of housing stock being delivered by the Government to meet home buyer demand has not only pushed up house prices but has also put further strain on a rentals market that was already buckling under the pressure.

But while we struggle to find suitable methods to build more homes, it would seem that there is already an abundance of housing stock under our noses in the form of millions of spare rooms across the UK.

Not only is there technically a room for everyone, but with an oversupply of over 18.6m homes, we have far more than we need. With this considered you could be forgiven for thinking housing crisis, what housing crisis?

While more homes are needed, we need to think about utilising what we already have. Shared living isn’t the answer for everyone, but it could certainly go a long, long way in helping at least ease the rental friction, lowering rents and enabling tenants to make the move to homeownership quicker.”

Region
Dwellings
Bedrooms
Population
Bedroom ‘Over Supply’ %*
Bedroom ‘Over Supply’
London
4,429,021
14,734,867
8,825,001
67%
5,909,866
Wales
1,486,920
4,302,082
3,125,165
38%
1,176,917
South West
2,640,914
7,511,050
5,559,316
35%
1,951,734
North East
1,278,945
3,547,565
2,644,727
34%
902,838
North West
3,434,049
9,475,349
7,258,627
31%
2,216,722
Yorkshire and The Humber
2,564,807
7,104,303
5,450,130
30%
1,654,173
East Midlands
2,175,072
6,190,150
4,771,666
30%
1,418,484
Northern Ireland
778,307
2,423,693
1,870,834
30%
552,859
Scotland
2,648,514
6,988,792
5,424,800
29%
1,563,992
West Midlands
2,578,365
7,271,799
5,860,706
24%
1,411,093
East of England
2,521,646
7,204,438
5,860,706
23%
1,343,732
South East
3,700,528
10,465,118
9,080,825
15%
1,384,293
TOTAL
30,568,819
84,408,705
65,732,503
28%
18,676,202
* Number of bedrooms versus population
Population: ONS (June 2018)
Dwellings and Bedrooms: Twenty Ci

 

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Home and Living

Signs of Outdated Wiring in Older Tulsa-Area Homes

Tulsa has a lot of beautiful older homes. Brookside bungalows, Maple Ridge tudors, the postwar neighborhoods that fill out Midtown and East Tulsa. They were built well, but most were built before central air, before microwaves, before two-car households with two laptops and a dozen phone chargers. The electrical systems inside them were designed for…
Read More →
LIVING BY THE SEASIDE 2022
Breaking News

Britain’s seaside price hotspots revealed

New analysis from the UK’s largest property platform Rightmove reveals Britain’s seaside hotspots where prices are rising the fastest Bootle in Merseyside leads the way, with average asking prices up 11% year-on-year, followed by Crosby in Liverpool (+9%) and Penarth in South Glamorgan (+9%) Other coastal locations including Llantwit Major in South Glamorgan (+8%) and Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire (+7%) are also seeing strong price growth Average asking prices are currently 0.3% lower in Great Britain compared to last year, with some seaside hotspots outpacing the…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Hertfordshire emerges as strongest performing London commuter county

New research from UK Property Development reveals that while London property prices fell by more than -3% in the past year, prices in some of the capital’s surrounding counties have enjoyed positive growth, none more so than the premium commuter county of Hertfordshire.   In the past year, London’s average house price has fallen by…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

Second homes losing appeal among the rich

New Survey Reveals Ongoing Maintenance Is the Biggest Barrier to Second Home Ownership   62% say upkeep and hassle would stop them from buying a second home, even if money were no object   A new survey conducted by luxury co-ownership platform Equity Residences has revealed that the practical realities of owning a second home…
Read More →
Letting Agent Talk

How to build a property portfolio with buy-to-let mortgages

One of the reasons property is such a popular asset choice for investors is that you don’t need to invest all the money yourself; you can leverage funds from the bank. Here’s a very simplistic example of how borrowing via a buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage allows you to multiply your returns versus owning a property all-cash:…
Read More →
Home and Living

2026’s Fastest-Growing Bathroom Trend Is the Wet Room

“Wet rooms have become one of the standout bathroom upgrades of 2026, moving from luxury extra to everyday renovation choice as more homeowners prioritise space, style and easy cleaning. The momentum is only building as spa‑style bathrooms stay in demand.” “Wet rooms used to be a niche request,” says Ant Langston, Marketing Manager at Heat…
Read More →