<P> Housing was a critical shortage in the postwar era . Air raids had destroyed a half million housing units; repairs and maintenance on undamaged had been postponed . In all 3 million new dwellings were needed . The government aimed for 300,000 annually, compared to the maximum prewar rate of 350,000 . However, there were shortages of construction workers, materials, and money . Not counting 150,000 temporary prefabricated units, the nation was still 1.5 million units short by 1951 . Legislation kept rents down, but did not affect purchased houses . The ambitious New Towns project was idealistic, but did not provide enough urgently needed units . When the Conservatives returned to power in 1951, they made housing a high priority and oversaw 2.5 million new units, two thirds of them through local councils . Haste made for dubious quality, and policy increasingly shifted toward renovation rather than new construction . Slums were cleared, opening the way for gentrification in the inner cities . </P> <P> Working - class families proved eager to purchase their council homes when the Thatcher government offered a good financial bargain in the 1980s . </P> <P> In early 2014 there were approximately 23 million dwellings in England, of which 63% were owner - occupied, 20% were private rented, and 17% were public housing . The overall mean number of bedrooms was 2.8 in 2013--14, 37% of households had at least two spare bedrooms . 20% of dwellings were built before 1919 and 15% were built post 1990 . 29% of all dwellings are terraced, 42% are detached or semi-detached, and the remaining 29% are bungalows or flats . The mean floor area is 95 square meters . Approximately 4% of all dwellings were vacant . Approximately 385,000 households reported a fire between 2012 and 2014, the majority of which were caused by cooking . In 2014 2.6 million households moved dwelling, the majority of which (74%) were renters . </P> <P> The Labour government suspected that there might be supply - side problems in the construction sector, and in 2006 commissioned the Callcutt Review of House Building Delivery, which was published in 2007 . The Callcutt report noted the failure of the home building industry to increase the supply in response to price signals . </P>

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