If fewer people can afford to buy their own home, or there is an insufficient supply of social housing, the private rented sector becomes their only viable housing option. In a pressured rental market, lower income households will be the worst affected. This can lead to overcrowding, poorer housing choices and growing demand for social housing or income support.

This indicator uses an international definition of housing stress, which is the proportion of low income households that spend more than 30% of their income on rent. It focuses on low income households (those in the lowest 40% of the equivalised income distribution) because some higher earning households can afford to spend more than 30% of their non-equivalised income on rent. There are three main types of rental accommodation in Jersey: private rental for people with residential qualifications; unqualified private rental; and, social rental. This indicator focuses on private rental for people with residential qualifications, as this is the sector where the greatest proportion of households live in rental stress.

This indicator uses data collected by the Jersey Household Income and Spending Survey, which is run every five years. The last report was published in 2023.