Social housing lists ‘would take 119 years to clear at current building rate’ | Social housing

Shelter’s research has shown that, given the pace at which the government is rolling out new social housing, it would take more than a century for social housing waiting lists in England to clear.

The housing charity found more than 1.3 million households were on the waiting list for social housing, but only 12,198 households across England were built by councils, housing associations or private developers last year. This means there are an average of 110 households waiting for every new social home delivered, and if construction continues at the same pace it will take 119 years for waiting lists to clear.

Sarah Elliott, Shelter’s chief executive, said that if the government “continues to deliver social housing too quickly, then none of us alive today will live to see the end of the housing emergency.”

“Unless the shortage of new social homes is addressed, communities will continue to fall apart and children will be trapped in homelessness for generations to come,” he said.

“Homelessness has soared to record levels as the number of new social homes falls off a cliff, with families fearing the wait for a safe and secure home will extend beyond their lifespan.”

Shelter’s research found that the number of new social rent homes built annually over the last 15 years has fallen by 64 per cent, while the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation has increased by 155 per cent.

20 per cent of council areas in England have not had a single social house built in the last two years, and 30 per cent of areas have had fewer than 10 homes built. At the peak of social housing distribution in 1967, 46% of all new homes built in England were for social rent, with councils providing almost all of these (97%).

Suzanne Muna, secretary and co-founder of the Social Housing Action Campaign, said: “The figures reveal a misleading government that blindly parrots terribly simple ‘build, baby, build’ targets as if it offers a universal cure – but it doesn’t.”

“This is a systemic failure of successive governments and is now actively exploited by private landlords and housing associations who are converting traditional family homes into temporary accommodation to be let to councils at exorbitant rents,” he said. “We need a fundamentally different approach to the provision of social housing. This requires major and sustainable investment in council housing.”

Shelter argued that local authorities were struggling to build social homes because of £29bn of housing debt handed over to them by the central government in 2012 as part of a social housing finance deal.

The charity said paying the interest on this debt was crippling councils and forcing them to sell more homes than they could afford to buy new, by heavily discounting right-to-buy sales.

“It’s ridiculous that councils can’t build the homes we need because of the housing debt handed over to them by the government, making it almost impossible to pay,” Elliott said.

“The government can and must deliver on the promise of a social housing revolution. Removing barriers such as unfair housing debt will help councils get back on track and build again on a large scale. Social rented homes are the only long-term solution to the housing emergency and we need 90,000 a year for 10 years.”

Councils argue that increased right-to-buy discounts have significantly reduced council housing stock and that restrictions on social rent rates have led to debt becoming unsustainable. Shelter and a coalition of councils are calling for the debt to be forgiven or reduced.

The government has promised a “social housing revolution” with 300,000 new social and affordable homes, 60% of which will be allocated to social rent. This equates to 180,000 homes; That’s roughly six times the number built in the decade to 2024.

A Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “We need more social homes, which is why the Social Housing Bill tackles decades of sales that have left more than a million families on waiting lists with nowhere to go.

“Our reforms will change the landscape for councils, giving them the confidence to build at scale once again and are supported by the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme.”