Government Policies to Reduce Number of Social Homes by 123,000 over Course of Parliament

The Government’s new approach to housing will cut the overall number of social homes in England by 123,000 over the next four years – denying 300,000 people a social rented home, the National Housing Federation has warned. Ministers announced in the spending review that they plan to deliver 155,000 new low cost homes – mostly to be built by housing associations – between April 2011 and March 2015. Having cut the affordable housebuilding budget by 63% they plan to fund these new homes by massively increasing rents to tenants of up to 80% of the local market rate. As most social homes go to families, the loss of 123,000 social homes will mean that up to 307,000 people on waiting lists will be denied a social rented property. The 63% cut to the housing budget means that, for the Government to deliver housing at scale, all tenants moving into newly built homes will have to be charged at the new, near-market rents, as well as one in four re-lets for tenants moving into existing social homes. Read more on the NHF website.