Housing associations already develop a quarter of all new homes in England. With the right funding and support, we could do so much more. A long-term plan, partnered with new policies and funding, would drive economic growth around the country and will be essential to achieving the government’s target to build 1.5 million new homes.
Research from Shelter and the National Housing Federation, carried out by CEBR, shows that building 90,000 social rented homes would add £51.2bn to the economy.
Most of this impact would happen quickly – £32.6bn would be generated within a year of building the homes, supporting almost 140,000 jobs. Within three years, the programme would break even, with the wider economic benefits surpassing the upfront cost of building, largely by boosting the construction industry. For every £1 of public grant housing associations would unlock £4 of private investment.
Step 1: reset the relationship between the government and housing associations and increase long-term certainty and confidence
As a first step, an early and high-profile commitment from the new government to ensure the long-term sustainability of social housing will provide housing associations with the confidence to plan for the future. This commitment from the government would kickstart a partnership and could happen before a major fiscal event. The first steps should include:
A commitment to a 10-year rent settlement with annual increases capped at CPI+1%and a fair and consistent approach to convergence. Details could be consulted on in the Autumn for implementation from April 2025. Ten years of rent increases at CPI+1, plus convergence, would give social landlords the certainty they need to plan investment over the long-term and would mean rents are affordable for tenants and still lower, in real terms, than they were in 2015.
A rapid boost to the Affordable Homes Programme, extending the current programme by one year, with a funding boost, a shift towards social rent, and greater flexibilities around grant rates, regeneration and s106 funding. It should be accompanied by a commitment to further funding in a new programme from 2026, to be confirmed in the spending review and with details consulted on during 2025.
Boosting the SHDF Wave 3 in line with Warm Homes Plan spending ambitions and quickly rolling it out to ensure vital work to existing social homes can continue at pace.
Commit to widening access to the Building Safety Fund to cover social housing, with details to be set out in the Autumn. Urgently review the timeframe for introducing additional regulatory requirements, prioritising successful adoption of the new consumer standards framework and Tenant Satisfaction Measures. Pause other regulatory and legal changes pending a review of the social housing regulatory landscape, ensuring better outcomes for residents and consistency across social and private rented sectors.
Reverse recent changes to the planning system and set out the first steps towards wider planning reform including on strategic planning and compulsory purchase orders.
Provide emergency funding for housing-related support to local authorities in financial crisis to ensure vital homelessness and supported housing services can continue to operate.
Source – housing.org.uk
Comments