New figures reveal who lives in Portsmouth’s 15,000 council homes
New figures reveal the tenant demographics and areas of improvement for housing services
New council reports have shed light on who lives in Portsmouth’s social housing and how well services are performing.
The authority manages approximately 15,000 to 15,600 council-rented homes across Portsmouth and surrounding areas, including Havant and Waterlooville.
Recent council reports have outlined the demographics of tenants alongside performance measures covering repairs, home safety, complaints and resident satisfaction.
The tenant profile analysis found women account for 62.58 per cent of recorded tenants, compared with 37.16 per cent who are men – the remainder is unknown or gender neutral.
More than half (55.1 per cent) of tenants are aged 55 or over, while 33 per cent are aged 65 or above.
White people make up 69.4 per cent of recorded housing tenants, while 3.1 per cent are Asian or Asian British and 2.2 per cent are Black or Black British.
A further 0.9 per cent are from mixed backgrounds and 2.3 per cent from other ethnic groups, while ethnicity information is missing or undeclared for 22.2 per cent of records.
A separate performance report covering the first quarter of 2026/27, from April to June, shows improvements in some areas of the council’s housing services, although concerns remain over home safety and repairs.
The proportion of routine repairs completed within 20 working days increased from 85.01 per cent in the previous quarter to 95.12 per cent.
However, the number of overdue routine repairs fell from 439 to 332, with performance still being monitored.
Gas safety checks completed annually stood at 96.1 per cent, down from 98.15 per cent, against a target of 100 per cent.
Meanwhile, the proportion of homes meeting the full Decent Homes Standard increased from 52.94 per cent to 67.32 per cent. The council said it was carrying out stock condition surveys to establish compliance across all its properties.
Performance in responding to damp and mould cases within the required timescales also remained below expectations, at 66.42 per cent.
The authority said resident feedback continued to shape its housing policies, with 35 people attending a policy focus group during the quarter, compared with 12 in the previous three months.