The chart beiow shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.

The bar chart illustrates the proportions of

households

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living in owner-occupied and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.

Overall

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, renting was the dominant form of housing at the beginning of the period,

whereas

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home

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ownership

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increased steadily over time and eventually became the more common choice. Notably, the two figures were equal in 1971, after which the

proportion

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of

home

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ownership

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continued to rise before experiencing a slight decline

at the end

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of the period. In 1918, rented accommodation accounted for the vast majority of housing, with approximately 77% of

households

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renting their homes,

while

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only 23% owned their properties. Over the following decades, the

proportion

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of rented housing declined gradually as

home

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ownership

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became increasingly popular. By 1971, the two figures had converged at 50%, indicating that the number of

households

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owning homes had caught up with those renting. After 1971,

home

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ownership

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continued to rise and reached a peak of around 69% in 2001.

In contrast

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, the

proportion

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of rented accommodation fell to its lowest level of approximately 31% in the same year.

However

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,

this

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trend reversed slightly during the final decade. By 2011, the share of

home

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ownership

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had declined modestly to 64%,

while

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the

proportion

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of rented

households

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increased slightly to 36%.