Wednesday 11 June is decision time for this government on their housing legacy. It’s the moment we’ll see if they’ll live up to their pledge of change and use this once-in-a-parliament opportunity to build the social rent homes we need and fix the housing emergency. Well, how, you ask? Stick around and we’ll tell you.
First, what are social rent homes, and why do we need them? The short version is that social homes are the answer to the housing emergency. The long version is that social rent homes are genuinely affordable. Unlike other tenures of so-called ‘affordable’ housing, which aren’t always truly affordable, social homes have their rents tied to local incomes. This means they cost about a third of private rents in England. These homes are also generally owned by housing associations or councils, and importantly, social rent homes provide a stable foundation for a happy, healthy life. Secure, long-term tenancies mean people can put down roots and live closer to where they work and where their kids go to school.
Decades of underinvestment have left us with a severe shortage of these homes. With over 1.3 million households on the social housing waiting list. Without enough social rent homes, many are at the mercy of the expensive and insecure private rented sector. And over 160,000 children are growing up homeless in temporary accommodation. Temporary accommodation that’s costing the government £2.3 billion a year.
But what’s happening on 11 June and why is it so important? The main way the government funds the building of social housing is through the Affordable Homes Programme. But this is ending in 2026. So at the June Spending Review, the government will decide how much to spend on building social rent homes over the next three to ten years. They’ve pledged to build 1.5 million homes by 2029. But history has shown us that the only way they’ll meet this target is by investing in a new generation of quality social rent homes. And investing in social rent homes is investing in our future.
Research has shown that building 90,000 social homes will pay for itself in three years. Creating jobs and boosting the economy. So, what do we need and how do we get it? We need to see the change that this government promised when they were elected. So everyone who needs it can access a quality and genuinely affordable social home. You campaigned for it. You fought for it. You voted for it. And now it has arrived. Change begins now. The government must invest in the future of social housing in the upcoming Spending Review. And that means committing to delivering 90,000 social rent homes a year by 2029.