Housing Needs Survey 2023

In 2023, we carried out a housing needs survey to improve our understanding of the housing needs of residents in the district.

The aim was to collect housing needs information from people of all ages, locations and housing tenures, with a particular focus on understanding:

if the housing needs of residents were already being met
who is in need and what type of affordable housing is required; and
how many new affordable homes are required to meet local housing need

All district residents, regardless of background and circumstance, were invited to respond to the survey to answer a series of questions relating to their current housing situation, whether they intended to move and if so, what type, size, tenure, and location of home they would need.

The survey also asked respondents their views and perceptions on affordable housing development, and property and tenure types. 2.1% of all households in the district responded.

Survey results

Results can be viewed by clicking the link below. You have the option to view all the results received, or results by ward level.

Housing Needs Survey 2023 results (opens in new tab)
csv file[6.64MB]

If you’re not sure which ward you live in, you can find out by using our My Neighbourhood system.

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Some 29% of households stated that their current home does not meet their needs. The top three reasons for this were the property ‘needs improvements/ repairs’, the property is ‘too small’ and there are an 'insufficient number of bedrooms'.
43% of households said that they needed to move within the next 5 years demonstrating a need for 2 and 3-bedroom properties. The top 5 reasons for needing to move were: the household needs more space, the current home is unaffordable, poor-quality housing, the household needs less space and neighbours/neighbourhood.
81% of households who need to move want to remain in the district. Analysis of the results shows that the majority of respondents want to remain in the area they currently live in, however there was a preference for Deal and Dover.
Some 60% of household who said they needed to move are existing households. The remaining 40% are new forming households.
Some 31% of households who responded said they had a disabled household member. This is much higher in comparison to the 2021 Census which recorded the disabled population of the district as 20.9%.
46% of disabled households need to move from their current home. Further analysis of the results shows there is a need for 2 and 3-bedroom properties for disabled households, with a preference for houses and bungalows.
68% of households said they would support affordable housing development in their community if a need was identified. Further analysis shows that households thought houses and bungalows should have ‘very high to high priority’ on developments, and for types of housing ‘social housing’ and ‘other affordable homeownership’ should have the same priority level.
An analysis of comments made by households showed that ‘not enough affordable housing’, ‘infrastructure & services’, design & type (of housing)', 'empty/holiday/second homes' and 'unaffordable household costs' were the top 5 mentioned topics. Other highly mentioned topics included ‘high private rents’, ‘affordability concerns’, ‘lack of suitable accommodation’, ‘homes for elderly people' and 'concerns for environment / green spaces'.

Affordable Housing Delivery Strategy

We are committed to increasing the range of affordable housing options available in the district, including social housing, shared ownership and First Homes. We work with developers to deliver new affordable homes while others are provided by our registered housing partners.

The survey results, alongside other housing data, will help us develop a new Affordable Housing Delivery Strategy. This strategy will set out how we plan to increase the supply of affordable housing and better meet the needs of residents across the district.

The strategy will help us:

improve our understanding of housing need through a programme of housing needs surveys
increase the supply of affordable housing and identify current and future demand for different housing types
work with partners to deliver a wider range of affordable housing options
support the creation of safe, attractive, sustainable and integrated communities
address and reduce current and future homelessness pressures.

Housing Needs Survey 2023

Survey results

Summary of key findings

Affordable Housing Delivery Strategy

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