CPIH - Consumer Price Index with Housing costs

The Consumer Prices Index including Owner Occupiers’ Housing costs is known as the CPIH. The CPIH is the UK’s leading measure of inflation, and is identical to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), apart from the inclusion of Owner Occupiers’ Housing (OOH) costs. It replaced the Retail Price Index (RPI) as the headline measure of inflation in 2003. For the latest CPIH rate please refer to the ONS web site using the link shown below.

Further Information on the CPIH

In October 2013 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a Compendium for the CPIH. It explains why the CPIH does not follow house price booms and busts and explores how the issues of costs to owner occupiers are different to costs faced by tenants. It discusses strengths and weaknesses in measurement and methodology and why the rental equivalence approach is used.

In November 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the Retail Price Index (RPI) will be aligned with the CPIH from February 2030. The change is likely to impact the value of workplace pensions. Sir David Norgrove, who chairs the UK Statistics Authority suggested it should happen sooner. Stian Westlake, chief executive of the Royal Statistical Society called for a full review.

Source Data

Office for National Statistics (ONS) Data Time Series L55O MM23 https://www.ons.gov.uk/