Research from housing charity Shelter has shown that if the current level of housebuilding does not increase, it would take 119 years to clear the current social housing waiting lists.
Over the last 15 years, research from the charity found that the annual level of social housing delivery has fallen by 64%, whilst the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation has increased by 155%.
Almost 1.5M households in the UK are currently on social housing waiting lists, a level of demand that means that every new social home delivered will have an average of 110 households waiting for it.
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One fifth of UK councils haven’t delivered new council housing in over 2 years, and in 30% of constituencies less than 10 have been built in the same time frame. Shelter argues that a key blockade facing councils expanding social housing stock is historic housing debt placed on to them by the Tory government in 2012, a debt that has since grown to paralyse council finances and incentivise the widespread sale of council housing at discounted prices.
As well as this historic debt hanging over councils, this degradation of social housing stock has led to further financial constraints. Since 2011, spending on temporary accommodation has risen by 1077%, a shocking figure that brings together a rise in spending in every region in England. The amount councils can claim back is still tied to the LHA rates from 2011, a figure that is no longer comparable to the expenses of providing housing for those in need today. These expenses are crushing councils budget books, draining resources from other departments and pushing more councils to call for emergency financial aid.
In order to tackle the rampant housing crisis we see today, social housing has an instrumental part to play. More and more working people are being priced out of the private sector, and housing delivery alone will not have the necessary impact to offer suitable housing for those who are already struggling. Recent research also questioned the blanket nature of the term “affordable housing”, and reiterated that in today’s economy only social housing could be considered truly affordable. An increase in housebuilding that will deliver market rate homes and private flats will not have any effect on those already trapped in temporary accommodation, and certainly not the record levels of homelessness.
In order to provide homes for those who need them, not just those who can afford them, social housing must lead the charge.
