Frequency of residential moves by housing tenure
19 April 2021
- From 2000 to 2015 one in five children (20%) in the private rented sector had moved three or more times by the age of 14 years, a much higher proportion than children in social rented homes (9%) and those in owner-occupied homes (2% if owned outright or 3% if owned with a mortgage).
This chart shows the number of moves experienced by children younger than 14 years by tenure.
This matters for health as instability at an early age can indicate interruptions in education and social participation, which can negatively affect children in later life. If certain groups of children are more likely to experience this, it can cause inequality in health outcomes.
There is an association between frequent residential moves and poorer health, including mental health issues and other health conditions. This may be due to the factors that require moves, such as economic insecurity, as well as the moving process itself.
This chart shows that moving multiple times is more likely to be experienced by children in the social rented or private rented sectors.
- Most children who lived in homes that are owned outright had not moved address, which is four times more likely than children of the same age in the private rented sector.
- Moving home twice is three times more likely for children in private rented homes and two times more likely for children in social rented homes, than for children living in homes that are owned outright.
- Moving three or more times is much more likely for children in the private rented sector than all other sectors, and is more than twice as likely for children living in social rented homes.
This chart shows that children growing up in rented homes are much more liable to experience housing instability than those in homes that are both owned with a mortgage and owned outright. This inequality is particularly stark when combined with the knowledge that the rented sector is a lot more vulnerable to non-voluntary moves.
More children are growing up in the private rented sector, a tenure which offers little guarantee of security. The government’s plans to abolish no-fault evictions under Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act are welcomed but should only be the start of creating longer and more stable tenancies.
- Moving is captured by change of address in each wave of the Millennium Cohort Study. As interview waves only occur every couple of years, it means that multiple moves between surveys are not captured. Therefore, the number of actual moves is likely to be higher.
Source: UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Millennium Cohort Study, sweep 5
