According to the Communities and Local Government’s (CLG) English Housing Report, the number of households renting privately has risen by one million since 2005-06, from 2.4 million to 3.4 million in 2009-10.

The private rental sector (PRS) now accounts for 15.6% of all households in England, up from 14.2% in 2008-09 and 11.7% in 2005-06.

The report also found there has been a decrease in the number of owner-occupied households from a peak of 14.8 million in 2005-06 to 14.5 million in 2009-10. The proportion of households in owner-occupation has been in decline since 2003, falling from 70.9% to 67.4% during the period. The proportion of social renting households is also in decline, falling from 19.5% in 2001 to 17.0% in 2009-10.

Nigel Terrington , chief executive of Paragon, said: “The CLG’s figures highlight the growing number of people relying on the private rented sector to provide their housing needs. The sector’s importance to UK housing continues to grow as increasing numbers of people opting to rent privately rather than step on the housing ladder.