Households were asked the extent to which housing costs and the repayment of non-housing-related debts are a financial burden to the household. The answer categories were ‘a heavy burden’; ‘somewhat a burden'; ‘not a burden at all”.
In 2024, three in ten (29.5%) households regarded housing costs as a heavy financial burden, slightly lower than the 2023 rate (30.6%) but more than six percentage points higher than in 2021 before households began to experience the impact of higher energy prices. The proportion reporting housing costs to be no burden at all dropped from three in ten (29.6%) households in 2021 to two in ten (20.3%) in 2023. There was an increase in the rate reporting no burden in 2024 (22.8% of households). See figure 6.1 and table 6.1.
| X-axis label | No burden at all | Somewhat of a burden | A heavy burden |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 22.8 | 47.7 | 29.5 |
| 2023 | 20.3 | 49.1 | 30.6 |
| 2022 | 21.6 | 47.5 | 30.9 |
| 2021 | 29.6 | 47.3 | 23.1 |
Of the households that indicated they had hire purchase instalments or other loan payment commitments in 2024, more than one in five (22.5%) households regarded the repayment of such loans to be a heavy financial burden, down from 23.3% in 2023. The 2021 rate was 16.1% (before households experienced the impact of rising interest rates on making loan repayments). See figure 6.2 and table 6.2.
| X-axis label | No burden at all | Somewhat of a burden | A heavy burden |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 30.1 | 47.4 | 22.5 |
| 2023 | 31 | 45.7 | 23.3 |
| 2022 | 31.4 | 47.9 | 20.7 |
| 2021 | 32.8 | 51.1 | 16.1 |
By household composition, the financial burden of housing costs was higher for households with children. In 2024, more than half (54.4%) of single-adult households with children regarded housing costs as a heavy burden, compared with approximately one in seven (13.8%) households composed of two adults where at least one was aged 65 or over. See figure 6.3 and table 6.1.
| X-axis label | Total housing cost | Repayment of debts from hire purchases or loans |
|---|---|---|
| 1 adult aged 65 years and over | 21.3 | 10.8 |
| 1 adult aged less than 65 years | 31.1 | 25.2 |
| 2 adults, at least 1 aged 65 years and over | 13.8 | 8.2 |
| 2 adults, both aged less than 65 years | 31.9 | 20.3 |
| 3 or more adults | 21.8 | 9.7 |
| 1 adult, with children under 18 years | 54.4 | 43.3 |
| 2 adults, with 1-3 children under 18 years | 36.5 | 26.9 |
| Other households with children under 18 years | 40.5 | 30 |
Rented or rent-free households were more likely than owner-occupied households to consider housing costs and loan repayments to be a heavy financial burden. Four in ten (41.4%) rented or rent-free households found housing costs to be a heavy burden, compared with 24.0% of owner-occupied households. See figure 6.4.
| X-axis label | Total housing cost | Repayment of debts from hire purchases or loans |
|---|---|---|
| Owner-occupied | 24 | 20 |
| Rented or rent-free | 41.4 | 27.3 |
Of households living in enforced deprivation, seven in ten (69.4%) found housing costs to be a heavy financial burden in 2024, compared with two in ten (22.1%) of households not experiencing deprivation. Likewise, households experiencing enforced deprivation were more likely to report that the repayments of debts from hire purchases or loans was a heavy financial burden in 2024. Six in ten (57.8%) of these households reported a heavy burden in making these repayments compared with 14.8% of households where the household members were not living in enforced deprivation. See figure 6.5.
| X-axis label | Total housing cost | Repayment of debts from hire purchases or loans |
|---|---|---|
| Not experiencing deprivation | 22.1 | 14.8 |
| Experiencing deprivation | 69.4 | 57.8 |
Overall, 8.7% of households went into debt to meet ordinary living expenses in the 12-month period prior to their interview date in 2024, almost unchanged from the 2023 rate of 8.6%. In 2021, 7.9% of households went into debt to meet ordinary living expenses.
| X-axis label | No | Yes |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 91.3 | 8.7 |
| 2023 | 91.4 | 8.6 |
| 2022 | 91.7 | 8.3 |
| 2021 | 92.1 | 7.9 |
Analysis by household composition shows that nearly three in ten (29.0%) single-adult households with children went into debt to meet ordinary living expenses in 2024. One in ten (11.7%) two-adult households with one to three children and 14.8% of other households with children went into debt to meet ordinary living expenses. The rates were much lower for older households, with 2.3% of single-adult households composed of one adult aged 65 or over, and less than 1% (0.8%) of two-adults where at least one was aged 65 or over going into debt in 2024. See figure 6.7.
| X-axis label | Gone into debt, within the last 12 months, to meet ordinary living expenses |
|---|---|
| 1 adult aged 65 years and over | 2.3 |
| 1 adult aged less than 65 years | 10.7 |
| 2 adults, at least 1 aged 65 years and over | 0.8 |
| 2 adults, both aged less than 65 years | 8.6 |
| 3 or more adults | 5.1 |
| 1 adult, with children under 18 years | 29 |
| 2 adults, with 1-3 children under 18 years | 11.7 |
| Other households with children under 18 years | 14.8 |
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