Spending On New Homes Plummets While Housing Benefit Soars

Government investment in building new homes has plummeted while spending on housing benefit has soared. In 2015/16, just 4.3 per cent of the government housing subsidy went towards measures to boost new building – down from 82 per cent in 1975/76 – while 95.7 per cent went on housing benefit and support for mortgage interest (up from just 18 per cent 40 years earlier). The vast majority went to housing benefit, with support for mortgage interest accounting for around £200 million. The extent of the shift is revealed in the UK Housing Review 2018. The review shows that investment in social housing has dropped from £13.7 billion in 1979/80 to 5.1 billion in 2016/17, in today’s prices. Read more on the CIH website.

http://www.cih.org/news-article/display/vpathDCR/templatedata/cih/news-article/data/Spending_on_new_homes_plummets_while_housing_benefit_soars_new_analysis