Gera Housing Stock Profile (GHSP) — Methodology
Published 20 June 2026 · Data: ONS Census 2021 (census day 21 March 2021, published January 2023)
What is the GHSP?
The Gera Housing Stock Profile (GHSP) is a proprietary, reproducible composite index that answers the question: "What is the housing character of [local authority] in England or Wales, based on official Census 2021 data?"
It combines four real Census 2021 variables — dwelling type, bedroom occupancy, central heating fuel, and car availability — into a single 0–100 score where higher values indicate more spacious, better-connected, and lower-density housing stock. It is not a property price index or a measure of affordability.
GHSP scores run from 35 (most urban / dense) to 89 (most spacious) across England and Wales. The national England and Wales baseline is 74/100 across 24,783,191 households.
Data sources
TS044 — Accommodation type
- Publisher
- Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Reference date
- 21 March 2021
- Published
- January 2023
- Fetched
- 2026-06-20
- Geography
- Local Authority (LTLA) (LTLA)
- Download
- ONS Census 2021 Bulk Download
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
Counts the dwelling type of each household: detached, semi-detached, terraced, purpose-built flat, converted flat, commercial building, or caravan. Used to compute the dwelling-score component (detached + semi % of total).
TS045 — Number of cars or vans
- Publisher
- Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Reference date
- 21 March 2021
- Published
- January 2023
- Fetched
- 2026-06-20
- Geography
- Local Authority (LTLA) (LTLA)
- Download
- ONS Census 2021 Bulk Download
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
Counts cars and vans available to households: none, 1, 2, or 3+. Used to compute the car-availability component (no-car % inverted).
TS046 — Type of central heating in household
- Publisher
- Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Reference date
- 21 March 2021
- Published
- January 2023
- Fetched
- 2026-06-20
- Geography
- Local Authority (LTLA) (LTLA)
- Download
- ONS Census 2021 Bulk Download
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
Records the primary heating fuel: mains gas, electric, oil, wood, solid fuel, renewable energy, district heat, or none. Used to compute the gas-connection component (mains-gas-only %).
TS052 — Occupancy rating for bedrooms
- Publisher
- Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Reference date
- 21 March 2021
- Published
- January 2023
- Fetched
- 2026-06-20
- Geography
- Local Authority (LTLA) (LTLA)
- Download
- ONS Census 2021 Bulk Download
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0
Measures whether households have spare bedrooms (+2, +1), are exactly right (0), or are overcrowded (−1, −2 or less), using the official ONS bedroom standard. Used to compute the occupancy component (overcrowded % inverted).
Formula
// Step 1: Per-component percentages from ONS Census 2021 counts
dwelling_score = 100 × (detached_n + semi_n) / total_TS044
no_car_pct = 100 × no_car_n / total_TS045
mains_gas_pct = 100 × mains_gas_only_n / total_TS046
overcrowded_pct = 100 × (bedroom_neg1_n + bedroom_neg2_n) / total_TS052
// Step 2: Weighted composite
GHSP_raw = 0.30 × dwelling_score
+ 0.25 × (100 − overcrowded_pct)
+ 0.25 × mains_gas_pct
+ 0.20 × (100 − no_car_pct)
// Step 3: Clamp to 0–100 and round
GHSP = clamp(round(GHSP_raw), 0, 100)
- dwelling_score
- % of households in detached or semi-detached dwellings. Weight 0.30 — the strongest single predictor of housing spaciousness.
- (100 − overcrowded_pct)
- Inverted overcrowding rate. Overcrowded = bedroom occupancy rating of −1 or −2 or less per ONS bedroom standard. Weight 0.25.
- mains_gas_pct
- % of households with mains gas as their only central heating source. Proxy for mains-infrastructure connection and housing modernity. Weight 0.25.
- (100 − no_car_pct)
- Inverted share of households with no car. Higher car ownership correlates with suburban/rural location and lower density. Weight 0.20.
Score distribution (331 LAs)
| Band | LAs | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Spacious (80–100) | 103 | 31.1% |
| Comfortable (70–79) | 178 | 53.8% |
| Average (60–69) | 32 | 9.7% |
| Dense (0–59) | 18 | 5.4% |
National GHSP (England + Wales aggregate): 74/100. Total LAs: 331 (England and Wales, LTLA geography).
National baseline (England and Wales)
| Component | National value | Source table |
|---|---|---|
| Total households | 24,783,191 | TS044 |
| Dwelling score (det+semi %) | 54.7% | TS044 |
| Mains gas % | 73.8% | TS046 |
| Overcrowded % | 4.3% | TS052 |
| No-car % | 23.3% | TS045 |
| National GHSP | 74/100 | Gera composite |
Limitations and disclaimers
- Snapshot, not trend. The GHSP is computed from Census Day 21 March 2021. It does not reflect housing changes since that date (new builds, demolitions, etc.).
- LTLA geography only. Scores are at Local Authority (LTLA) level. They average out intra-LA variation — a large LA may contain very different neighbourhoods. MSOA-level breakdowns are available from ONS but not in this cluster.
- Equal weighting is a choice. The 0.30/0.25/0.25/0.20 weights reflect a housing-spaciousness framing. Alternative weightings (e.g. emphasising heating over car access) would produce different rankings. The methodology and code are public.
- Mains gas as a modernity proxy. High mains-gas access correlates with suburban/urban housing built when gas infrastructure was laid. It is not a quality judgement — off-grid or heat-pump areas may have equally modern stock.
- Not a price or affordability index. The GHSP measures physical housing stock characteristics, not prices, rents, or affordability. Spacious areas are not necessarily affordable.
Compare housing profiles by local authority
See how your area compares to 331 local authorities across England and Wales.
Explore the UK Housing Stock Profile →Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Census 2021, Tables TS044, TS045, TS046, TS052. Download: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_bulk. Reference date: 21 March 2021. Published: January 2023. Fetched: 2026-06-20.