Mnemonic: residence_type
Applicability: Person
Type: Standard variable
Definition
Whether a person lives in a household or a communal establishment. People who completed the normal household questionnaire were recorded as living in a household. Those who completed an individual questionnaire were asked if they lived in a household or a communal establishment.
Classification
Total number of categories: 2
| Code | Name |
|---|---|
| 1 | Lives in a household |
| 2 | Lives in a communal establishment |
Question asked
What type of accommodation is this?
- A communal establishment (for example, student hall of residence, boarding school, armed forces base, hospital, care home, prison)
- A private or family household
In Census 2021 the option that describes a flat, maisonette or apartment that is "in a tenement or purpose built block of flats" included 4 in-a-block.
Background
Read about how we developed and tested the questions for Census 2021.
Why we ask the question
The answer helps communities by allowing local authorities, planners and housing providers to understand the types of accommodation available in their area. They can use this information to work our what type of housing people will need in the future.
The census first asked this question in 1981.
Comparability with the 2011 Census
Highly comparable
What does highly comparable mean?
A variable that is highly comparable means that it can be directly compared with the variable from the 2011 Census. The questions and options that people could choose from may be slightly different, for example the order of the options may be swapped around, but the data collected is the same.
England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland comparisons
Highly comparable
What does highly comparable mean?
A variable that is highly comparable means that it can be directly compared with the variable from Scotland and Northern Ireland. The questions and options that people could choose from may be slightly different, for example the order of the options may be swapped around, but the data collected is the same.
Find out more about variables produced for Census 2021 in Northern Ireland and Census 2022 in Scotland.
Census 2021 data that uses this variable
We use variables from Census 2021 data to show findings in different ways.
You can:
- get the residence type dataset
- view residence type data for an area on Nomis (an Office for National Statistics service)