evidence: Social housing lettings are when social housing properties - homes owned by social landlords - are rented by households at cheaper rents than in the private sector. Social landlords can be a local authority (often known as "council housing") or a private registered provider (which includes housing associations). They must be registered with the Regulator of Social Housing. In most areas, social housing is allocated by the local authority. Each local authority runs a "waiting list" as there are more people applying for social housing than properties available. In 2022/23, 17% of households in England lived in social housing[footnote 1]. [...] 58% of households who were new to the social housing sector in 2022/23 were on the waiting list for less than a year in that local authority area before they got their letting. 9% of households were on the waiting list for 5 years or more before getting a social letting in that area. [...] Of the 1.29 million households on the social housing waiting list on 31 March 2023, 593,000 had been granted Reasonable Preference in at least one category (46%)[footnote 4].