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 advertising content from third parties and affiliations.. 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.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Persistent decline to give way to recovery in 2027

Glenigan’s Autumn 2026 Construction Forecast maintains that sector growth will revive in 2027, despite a challenging year of market stagnation Following a sluggish end to 2026, construction is set to rebound from 2027 onwards as public sector building increases Significant value gains expected for health, education, civils, offices and data centre projects Private and social…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

The Plumbing and Electrical Problems That Quietly Kill Sales and Lettings

We’ve all had one of these. The offer’s agreed. Everyone’s happy. The memorandum of sale has gone out, and you’re already mentally banking the fee. Then the buyer’s survey comes back. “Electrics appear dated. Recommend inspection by a qualified electrician.” And just like that, the mood changes. The buyer starts asking about a reduction. The…
Read More →
Breaking News

Rental price and average salary tracker – October 2026

Rental prices rise across most regions as affordability pressures persist Average monthly rents increased in eight of the 11 regions between September and October, with Wales recording the largest rise at 31.1%, followed by the North East at 29.8% and the South West at 7.5%. Scotland, London and the North West were the only regions…
Read More →
Letting Agent Talk

Portfolio landlords have outgrown traditional property management

By Adam Hills, Client Services Director, LRG Living Markets The residential lettings industry still manages many large portfolios as though they’re simply collections of individual tenancies. While that works on small portfolios, but it doesn’t work when landlords own 50, 100 or 200 properties. At that point, the challenge is no longer property management alone…
Read More →
Breaking News

Real-life value of the most famous Christmas film homes

The real-life value of the most famous Christmas film homes, from budget classics to multimillion-pound mansions New research has gathered and analysed the estimated valuations of real homes featured in popular Christmas films, ranking them by cost. The priciest homes are featured in The Holiday, Trading Places, and Home Alone, with Amanda’s home from The…
Read More →
Estate Agent Talk

77% of buyers refuse to buy a flood risk property

Despite 4.7 million English homes facing flood risk New research from Lyons Bowe has revealed that 77% of homebuyers would not consider purchasing a property in a flood risk area, despite more than 4.7 million homes across England currently being deemed at risk of flooding. The findings come as the Government launches a new flood taskforce amid…
Read More →