Experts React to Emerging Levelling Up Committee Document
In a recent report published by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, titled 'The Finances and Sustainability of the Social Housing Sector', the need for increased investment in social housing has been emphasised. The report calls for the government to invest in the sector to deliver 90,000 new social rent homes per year in England.
Key stakeholders, including London Councils and the Local Government Association, have expressed their support for this target. Darren Rodwell, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, highlighted that there are more than 1.2 million households on council waiting lists in the country and over 100,000 households living in temporary accommodation.
Andy Hulme, chief executive of The Hyde Group, also emphasised the need for 90,000 more socially rented homes to be built each year to meet existing demand.
The Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) is identified as a key tool for achieving this target. With a £39 billion funding commitment over the next decade, including a recent £300 million top-up announced in 2025 to support additional homes, the AHP operates through grant funding that helps de-risk developments by providing substantial capital support to social landlords and housing providers.
To maximise the impact of this programme, several strategies have been proposed. These include leveraging public grant funding strategically, enhancing public-private partnerships, accelerating remediation and safety investment, planning and zoning reform, and increasing multi-year funding certainty.
Strategic grant funding can be expanded to target areas with the highest need, while public-private partnerships can attract additional capital by offering stable, government-backed rental income. The government's commitment to remediation of unsafe social housing buildings is also crucial, with over £1 billion already allocated for this purpose.
Planning barriers can be addressed by moving towards flexible zoning systems, which can streamline approvals and unlock rural and urban land for social housing development. Multi-year funding certainty can provide stability for social housing providers, allowing them to plan and deliver homes more effectively.
Resident-focused remediation policies can also improve the viability of social housing investments, with measures such as support during remediation and options like subletting helping to increase uptake.
London Councils have welcomed the report and claimed that without more government investment, the future of social housing looks bleak. They have expressed their desire to work with ministers in securing more resources for boosting social housing in London and across the country.
Industry experts, including Andrea Thorn, director of homes and communities at Riverside, have also supported setting a target for the number of social homes the sector should build each year.
In conclusion, a combination of substantial government grant funding, strong partnerships with the private sector and local authorities, targeted remediation investment, and planning reform are essential to meet the government’s ambitious social rent homebuilding goals of 90,000 units annually. The government is advised to set a clear, achievable target for the number of social rent homes it intends to create each year.
For more information on this topic, please refer to the article titled 'Mission impossible': Boroughs warn of social housing struggles amid budget cuts'.
[1] Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (2021). The Finances and Sustainability of the Social Housing Sector. [Online] Available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5044/documents/51114/default/ [2] London Councils (2021). Social housing in London: A critical need for investment. [Online] Available at: https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/our-work/housing/social-housing-in-london-a-critical-need-for-investment [3] Local Government Association (2021). Social housing: Tackling the crisis. [Online] Available at: https://www.local.gov.uk/campaigns/social-housing-tackling-crisis [4] National Housing Federation (2021). Planning reform: A chance to unlock social housing. [Online] Available at: https://www.housing.org.uk/policy/planning-and-housing/planning-reform-chance-unlock-social-housing
The Local Government Association, along with industry experts such as Andrea Thorn from Riverside, have advocated for the government to set a specific target for the number of social rent homes it aims to construct each year, following the report titled 'The Finances and Sustainability of the Social Housing Sector' by the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee. Local government associations have also called for increased government investment in social housing, recognizing the substantial demand, with over 1.2 million households on council waiting lists and over 100,000 households living in temporary accommodation across the country.
