Housing Costs

• In the last twenty years, annual house prices have, in general, been on the rise, apart from a significant drop during the economic crash of 2008 and recent economic uncertainty. Dorset prices are higher than both the national and regional prices. Whilst median private rental costs are on par with the national rents, the gap between local housing allowance and rents has widened. Local Housing Allowance is used to calculate the maximum amount that people renting from a private landlord can claim in Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
• The figures below show the average cost to rent a housing association property at either a social rent or an affordable rent. Affordable rents are calculated based on 80% of the market rent in our area. As market rent increases, so does the affordable rent cost.

Housing Needs

• Across Dorset, 77.9% of homes are under-occupied by one or more bedrooms. With 64.2% of Dorset homes having 3 or more bedrooms.
• The census says that 3,496 households with dependent children live in overcrowded conditions. 970 of these have applied to join the waiting list for social housing.
• Although the greatest demand is for smaller homes, families needing larger properties often face longer waits because these rarely become available. In the 12 months to September 2025, only 14 homes with four or more bedrooms were let through Homechoice Dorset.
• The housing register shows a top-heavy need for smaller properties, which is mirrored in homeless approaches to the Council. Over half of emergency homeless households require a one-bedroom home, while around a quarter need two bedrooms.

Homelessness Demand

There was a very similar number of homeless approaches in the year to March 2023. The service receives¹:

• Average 588 calls per month. Each call lasting up to 30 minutes.
• Average of 2,410 emails each month.
• More than 4,190 contacts from the online portal.
• Initial enquiries resulted in 2,911 homeless assessments.

The main reasons given for homelessness are:

• End of private rented accommodation
• Family no longer willing or able to accommodate
• Victim of domestic abuse
• Relationship breakdown
• Departure from institutional custody
• End of social rented tenancy
• Domestic abuse perpetrator evicted