England: 119 years to clear social housing waiting lists at current speed

Despite more than 1.3 million households being stuck on social housing waiting lists, last year only 12,198 social rent homes were delivered by councils, housing associations and private developers across England, and the year before the figure was just 10,320. This means there was an average of 110 households waiting for every social home delivered last year.

Shelter’s analysis of government figures paints a stark picture of the devastatingly low rates of delivery for new social homes. In 30% of council areas (89) fewer than ten social homes were delivered in the last two years, and in 60 of those 89 areas not a single social home was built.

The charity’s analysis also exposes the dire consequences the dwindling supply of social housing is having on rising homelessness levels. In the last 15 years, the number of social rent homes delivered per year has decreased by almost two-thirds (64% decrease), while the number of households homeless in temporary accommodation has more than doubled (155% increase).

One of the reasons social housebuilding has plunged is because councils, who used to provide the bulk of social housing, are struggling to get shovels in ground. A major barrier for councils is the stranglehold of £29bn worth of historic housing debt that was passed onto them by central government in 2012 as part of a council house financing agreement – the terms of which have been repeatedly broken by successive governments. For example, councils have been forced to sell off more homes through heavily discounted Right to Buy sales than they could afford to replace.

Shelter, along with more than 100 councils in England, argue this historic housing debt is unfair and should be removed from council balance sheets. Having to service it is paralysing councils, sucking away money that they could be using to deliver vital new social homes. The charity says getting councils building at scale again is the only way the government can fulfil its promise of a ‘council housing revolution’ and get families off waiting lists and into a secure home.

At the peak of social home delivery in 1967, 46% of all new homes built in England were for social rent and councils delivered almost all of them (97%). To end today’s housing emergency Shelter’s research shows the delivery of new social homes needs to ramp up to 90,000 a year for ten years.

Sarah Elliott, chief executive of Shelter, said: “If the government continues to deliver social homes at a snail’s pace, none of us alive today will live to see the end of the housing emergency. Unless the scarcity of new social homes is addressed, communities will continue to be ripped apart, and children trapped in homelessness for generations to come.

“While the number of new social homes has fallen off a cliff, homelessness has climbed to record levels with families worrying their wait for a safe and secure home will exceed their lifetime. It is absurd councils cannot build the homes we need because of a housing debt that was passed onto them by the government, which it has made almost impossible to pay off.

“The government can - and must - fulfil its promise of a council housing revolution. Removing barriers like the unfair housing debt would help councils to get shovels in the ground and build at scale again. Social rent homes are the only long-lasting solution to the housing emergency, and we need 90,000 a year for ten years.”