Social housing & council homes map
How much of a neighbourhood is social housing — homes rented from a council or a housing association? This map shades every UK census small-area by its social-rented share, so you can read council-housing patterns street by street before you move.
What the map shows
The default Social housing layer colours 239,023 census small-areas (Output Areas, or Data Zones in Northern Ireland) by the share of households in the social-rented sector. Darker blue means more council houses and housing-association homes. Search an address to zoom straight to its street and read the pattern around it.
Council houses and housing-association homes
“Social housing” covers both council housing (rented from a local authority) and housing-association homes — together, the social-rented tenure recorded by the census. England, Wales and Northern Ireland split the two; Scotland reports a combined figure.
Browse every council
Prefer a ranked list? Browse social housing by local authority — all 374 UK councils ordered by their social-housing share, each with its own figures.
Share of households in social housing: top and bottom 10 councils
Highest share
| 1 | Hackney | 40.5% |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Islington | 40.2% |
| 3 | Southwark | 39.7% |
| 4 | Tower Hamlets | 35.9% |
| 5 | Glasgow City | 34.8% |
| 6 | Camden | 33.7% |
| 7 | West Dunbartonshire | 33.7% |
| 8 | Lambeth | 33.6% |
| 9 | Barking and Dagenham | 31.5% |
| 10 | Greenwich | 31.0% |
Lowest share
| 1 | Castle Point | 5.5% |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Wyre | 7.6% |
| 3 | Wokingham | 7.7% |
| 4 | Oadby and Wigston | 7.9% |
| 5 | Ribble Valley | 8.0% |
| 6 | Rochford | 8.1% |
| 7 | Tendring | 8.1% |
| 8 | Fareham | 8.1% |
| 9 | Blaby | 8.2% |
| 10 | Torbay | 8.3% |
2021–22 Census, all 374 UK councils. Ranked across 374 councils; the low end counts up from the bottom. See every council.
Common questions
What counts as social housing?
Homes rented from a council (local authority) or from a housing association — together, the “social rented” tenure recorded by the census. It does not include private renting, shared ownership or owner-occupied homes.
How much of the UK is social housing?
17.5% of UK households lived in social housing at the 2021–22 Census. The share varies enormously by place — from 40.5% in Hackney down to 5.5% in Castle Point.
Which UK council has the most social housing?
Hackney has the highest share of any UK local authority, with 40.5% of households in social housing. See the full ranking of all 374 councils.
Where does the social housing data come from?
The 2021–22 Census: ONS table TS054 for England & Wales, National Records of Scotland table UV404, and NISRA Data Zone tenure for Northern Ireland — all open data under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Other layers
UK schools map · Nursery & pre-school map · Crime & anti-social behaviour map · Noise & sound pollution map · Parks & green space map · House prices per m² map · Deprivation map (whole UK) · Broadband speed map · Social housing by council