The housing situation in Croydon

The current housing situation in Croydon, including numbers of people waiting for council homes and how many homes are available for rent.

We have about 5,000 households on our housing register, with many people waiting over 10 years for social housing (council or housing association homes).

Only 260 council properties became available last year for people on our waiting list. 

Your eligibility for social housing

We have set criteria that you must meet in order to be eligible for social housing. For full details, please see our housing allocation scheme.

The amount of housing available in Croydon 

According to the latest available census data, there are 150,100 properties (houses, flats, bungalows) in Croydon. When we look at who owns these properties, the data tells us that:

  • 66% of properties are privately owned (this includes owned outright and owned with mortgage)
  • 18% of properties are rented from the private sector
  • 16% of properties are socially owned (rented by the council and housing associations) = 9% council, 7% housing association

We have only a very limited supply of council homes, with twice as many homes in the private rental sector.

We have roughly 5 available properties a week, with more than 5,000 people waiting and more than 3,000 coming in each year for help with housing.

The result is that we simply can’t house everyone. Council properties that are available to rent will be advertised on croydonchoice.org.uk.

Further housing facts, questions and answers

Homelessness and housing

Almost 3,000 people apply as homeless each year to us.

If you are homeless, you will not be offered social housing. Our offer is more likely to be a private rental property and it will not necessarily be in Croydon. Given the current levels of demand this offer could take up to 24 months to be made, and you will only get one offer.

If you are threatened with homelessness and need our help, our advice will depend on your current situation. For more information see our housing self help tool.