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Percentage of Households in Owned and Rented Accommodation - Task 1 Bar Graph Band 9 Sample Report

Updated: Jun 28

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.


The chart below shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.


Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.


Write at least 150 words.


Task 1 Bar Graph Band 9 Sample (The chart shows the percentage of households in owned and rented accommodation in England and Wales between 1918 and 2011.)

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Sample Report 1

The bar chart illustrates the proportion of households in England and Wales that either owned or rented their homes between 1918 and 2011.


Overall, over the course of nearly a century, homeownership in England and Wales witnessed a marked increase, becoming the preferred choice for the majority by 2011. Meanwhile, rented accommodations, although dominant in the early 20th century, saw a significant decline before experiencing a slight resurgence in the early 21st century.


Initially, in 1918, a mere 20% of households owned their homes, while a substantial three-quarters opted for rented accommodations. This disparity began to narrow over the decades. By 1971, there was an equilibrium, with both homeownership and rented accommodations accounting for roughly 50% each. Subsequent years witnessed homeownership gaining prominence, peaking just below 70% in 2001. Despite a slight decline by 2011, it remained predominant at over 60%.


Conversely, the preference for rented accommodations plummeted post-1918, reaching its lowest at around 30% in 2001. Notably, there was a modest rise by 2011, pushing it to approximately 33%.


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Sample Report 2

The provided bar chart elucidates the proportion of households that lived in their own or rented accommodation in England and Wales from 1918 to 2011. It is evident from the data that there was a significant surge in home ownership and a decline in rental properties.


Prior to 1971, the proportion of rented properties was greater than that of owned properties, with rented properties accounting for almost 80% of households in 1918. Conversely, the percentage of households owning their homes was less than 10%. The gap between these two percentages began to narrow after 1918, with rental properties dropping to approximately 60% and owned properties increasing to 40% by 1961.


Over the next 40 years, the number of households owning their own homes began to surpass those renting, with the percentage of owned properties increasing from 50% in 1981 to 70% in 2001, and then marginally declining to 65% in 2011. Meanwhile, the proportion of rented properties declined from 50% in 1981 to a low of 30% in 2001 before gradually increasing to around 35% in 2011.


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Sample Report 3

The presented bar chart depicts the changing proportions of households who owned or rented their residences in England and Wales from 1918 to 2011.


Throughout the 93-year period, the number of households owning their homes increased while the number of households renting decreased. Before 1971, rented accommodation was more common than owned accommodation. After 1971, the situation changed, and more households owned their homes than rented.


In 1918, the majority of households (about 75%) were living in rented properties, with less than 10% owning their homes. However, the percentage of rented properties decreased to around 60% in 1961, while the proportion of owned residential properties increased to 40% during the same period. By 1971, both figures became equal at 50%.


Over the next four decades, the number of households owning their homes continued to grow, reaching its peak in 2001, when nearly 70% of households owned their residences. After that, ownership fell slightly to around 65% in 2011. Meanwhile, the percentage of households renting their homes gradually decreased to its lowest point of approximately 30% in 2001 before increasing slightly to about 35% in 2011.



Sample Report 4

The bar chart illustrates the percentage of households in England and Wales that owned or leased homes from 1918 to 2011.


Previously, residents often favoured renting over owning homes. With time, however, this pattern shifted as more people began choosing to buy houses rather than rent them.


Only roughly 23% of families in England and Wales lived in their own home in 1918, compared to approximately 78 percent of homes that were leased. However, this significant difference continued to steadily decrease over time, and in 1971, the percentages of homeowners and renters were equal at 50% each.


On the other hand, the ratio of home ownership to tenancy underwent a reversal trend after 1971; the proportion of households in owned housing kept increasing while that in leased housing remained dropping. However, in the last year, 2011, the share of leased families began to rise once again, while owned homes started to show signs of declining.


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