The bar chart compares the percentages of households living in owned and rented homes in England and Wales from 1918 to 2011.
Overall, the chart shows a clear move toward home ownership over the period. Renting was very common at the beginning, but its share gradually decreased, while home ownership increased and reached a peak in 2001. By 2011, ownership fell slightly, but it still remained higher than renting.
In 1918, only 23% of households owned their homes, whereas about 77% lived in rented accommodation. Ownership rose slowly to around 32% in 1939 and stayed at the same level in 1953. After that, it increased more quickly, reaching 69% in 2001 before dropping slightly to 64% in 2011. Home ownership became higher than renting from 1961, and both figures were equal at 52% in 1971.
Meanwhile, renting followed the opposite trend. It started at 77% in 1918 and remained close to 68% until 1953. Then it continued to fall, reaching 31% in 2001. Although there was a small rise to 36% in 2011, the overall trend shows a clear decline in renting over time.
