This list was written by BandLadder's authors, Fizza Butool Zaidi and Ali Zaidi. The meanings and example sentences are our own, not taken from model answers or dictionaries.

12 words

Writing Task 2 vocabulary

Formal and neutral items that suit an essay. They work in Speaking too.

affordable housing
Homes that people on average or low incomes can afford.
The shortage of affordable housing forces many young adults to live with their parents into their thirties.
the housing market
The buying and selling of homes in an area.
Foreign investment has pushed up prices in the housing market of several capital cities.
property prices
The prices at which homes and land are sold.
Property prices in major cities have risen far faster than wages.
first-time buyers
People buying their first home.
Some governments offer tax relief to first-time buyers to help them enter the market.
social housing
Homes owned by a council or charity and rented cheaply to people in need.
Investment in social housing is one of the most direct ways to reduce homelessness.
British term; American English often says 'public housing'.
homelessness
The state of having no home.
Homelessness rarely has a single cause; job loss, illness and family breakdown often combine.
high-density housing
Many homes built on a small area of land, such as blocks of flats.
High-density housing makes efficient use of land, but poor design can make it feel overcrowded.
tenant
A person who pays rent to live in a property.
A tenant who reports a repair should not face a rent increase as a result.
a deposit
The first part of a home's price, paid upfront when taking out a mortgage.
Saving for a deposit can take more than a decade in expensive cities.
overcrowded accommodation
Housing with too many people for its size.
Children growing up in overcrowded accommodation often have nowhere quiet to study.
home ownership
Owning the home you live in.
Rates of home ownership among people under thirty-five have fallen in many countries.
rent controls
Legal limits on how much rents can rise.
Rent controls protect existing tenants, but critics say they discourage the building of new homes.

Use housing and accommodation vocabulary in a Task 2 essay

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10 phrases

Speaking vocabulary

Natural spoken English for Parts 1 to 3. Items noted as informal or as an idiom belong in Speaking only, never in Task 2.

a flat
A set of rooms on one floor of a larger building.
I live in a two-bedroom flat on the fourth floor.
British English; 'apartment' is also understood.
flatmate
A person you share a flat with.
I share with two flatmates, which keeps the rent down.
move out
To leave the home where you have been living.
Most of my friends couldn't afford to move out until their late twenties.
cosy
Warm, comfortable and pleasant.
My room is small but really cosy, especially in winter.
British spelling; American 'cozy'.
cramped
Uncomfortably small for the people or things in it.
Our first flat was so cramped that we had to eat on the sofa.
a quiet neighbourhood
A calm residential area.
I'd love to live in a quiet neighbourhood with a park nearby.
get on the property ladder
To buy your first home.
It's really hard for people my age to get on the property ladder.
pay rent
To pay money regularly to live in someone else's property.
Almost half my salary goes to pay rent.
do up
To repair and decorate a building.
My parents want to do up the kitchen next year.
Informal British phrasal verb; use 'renovate' in Writing.
feel at home
To feel relaxed and comfortable somewhere.
It took me a few months to feel at home in the new city.

Writing Task 2

Use it in an answer

In many cities young people can no longer afford to buy a home. What are the causes, and what can be done?

The main cause is that property prices have risen far faster than wages, so first-time buyers need years to save a deposit while paying high rents. Limited land and slow planning decisions add to the problem. Governments could respond by building more social housing and permitting well-designed high-density housing near transport links, which would increase supply without spreading cities further. Stronger protection for each tenant would also make renting a secure long-term option rather than a stage people try to escape.

Written by our authors to show the vocabulary in use; not an official IELTS sample.

Lexical Resource

How examiners judge this vocabulary

Vocabulary is scored as Lexical Resource, one quarter of your Writing and Speaking marks. At the higher bands the public IELTS band descriptors for Speaking mention “less common and idiomatic vocabulary”, together with awareness of style and collocation. In practice that means the right item in the right register: ‘affordable housing’ in an essay, ‘a flat’ when you speak. Accuracy comes first; a misused advanced word costs more than a plain one used well.

Practise in context

Housing and accommodation questions to practise

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a house, a flat and an apartment?+

A house is a separate building, sometimes joined to others. A flat (British) or apartment (American and international) is a set of rooms inside a larger building. In IELTS either 'flat' or 'apartment' is fine.

Is it 'accommodation' or 'accommodations'?+

In British English 'accommodation' is uncountable: 'student accommodation is expensive', not 'accommodations are'. American English sometimes uses the plural, but the uncountable form is the safe choice in IELTS.

Can I use the Speaking phrases in Writing Task 2?+

Not the informal ones. Phrasal verbs and idioms such as 'do up' sound natural in Speaking but are too casual for an essay, and Task 2 should have no contractions. Everything in the Writing list works in both papers.

Will learning these words raise my IELTS band?+

Not on their own, and no word list guarantees a band. Lexical Resource rewards vocabulary used precisely and naturally, so five items you can use correctly are worth more than twenty forced into an answer. Learn each one with its example, then write or say a sentence of your own.

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IELTS vocabulary for housing and accommodation