Scottish Household Survey Annual Report

9 3 Housing Housing Tenure from 1999 to 2019 The total number of households in Scotland has increased by 15 per cent from 2.17 million households in 1999 to 2.50 million households in 2019. The proportion of households in the private rented sector grew steadily from five per cent in 1999 (120,000 households) to 15 per cent in 2016 (370,000 households), an increase of a quarter of a million households. The proportion has since dropped slightly to 14 per cent in 2018, to stand at 340,000 households, after which it has remained at a similar size in the latest year 2019. The percentage of households in owner occupation grew from 61 per cent in 1999 to 66 per cent in 2005, was stable at around 65 and 66 per cent until 2009 but then declined by an estimated 90,000 households between 2009 and 2014 to 60 per cent. The level has since remained around 61 and 62 per cent each year, but has grown back in absolute numbers by 80,000 between 2014 and 2019. Within this, the steady decline in the proportion of younger households aged between 16 and 34 in owner occupation, which fell from 53 per cent in 1999 to 30 per cent in 2014, has reversed over recent years, rising to 38 per cent in 2019, an increase of approximately 50,000 younger households in owner occupation between 2014 and 2019. The percentage of households in the social rented sector declined from 32 per cent in 1999 to 23 per cent in 2007, an estimated drop of 150,000 households, but has since stabilised and has remained at between 22 and 24 per cent of all households since then, which represents an estimated increase of approximately 50,000 households since 2007. Characteristics of households by tenure, 2019 Owned outright properties (estimated 820,000 households and 1,510,000 people):  Most properties were houses (83 per cent).  Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) had a highest income householder (HIH) who was aged 60 or over.  Over half (52 per cent) contained adults who had lived at their address for more than 20 years.  Over eight in 10 (84 per cent) contained adults who did not expect to move from their current property in the future.