EnglandOn 11 June at the Spending Review, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will decide the future of social housing for the next five or so years. This is our chance to demand real action.
Our campaign urges her to make social housing a priority. We've written her an open letter making it clear: social housing needs proper investment. You can add your name to join the fight.
A chronic lack of social housing has driven the country into a housing emergency. Building a new generation of good-quality social rent homes is the only way to end homelessness. It would transform society, creating an affordable, secure and safe housing system for everyone. But we need your help to make it happen.
At the upcoming Spending Review, the government will decide how much money will be invested into social housing for the next five or so years. Remember their commitment to the "biggest boost in affordable and social housing for a generation"? Securing investment in social housing - the only truly affordable housing option - would make that promise a reality, enabling the delivery of the 90,000 social rent homes needed to end homelessness and ultimately, the housing emergency.
We’ll submit an open letter to Rachel Reeves ahead of the big day, reminding her that people across the country are watching and we expect action. This opportunity comes only once per parliament and could shape the future of social housing in this country. We cannot afford to let it pass us by.
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.
4,667 people slept rough on any given night last autumn - more than double the numbers from 2021
164,040 children stuck homeless in damaging temporary accommodation - up 15% in a year
1.3 million households on social housing waiting lists - forcing people into unsuitable, unaffordable, and unstable private renting
Explore the research that has shaped our campaign and find the latest statistics for children in temporary accommodation in your area.
On 3 April, Shelter took British music icon Craig David back in time to his childhood social home: the place where he wrote his celebrated first album, Born to Do It.
Now Craig is joining Shelter in making an urgent plea for more social housing.
If we all support the building of new social homes, it'll transform our society, creating an affordable, secure and safe housing system for everyone. It will:
end homelessness by clearing social housing waiting lists, providing stable homes for families in temporary accommodation, and ending rough sleeping
deliver more genuinely affordable homes – social rents are linked to local incomes, so they are the most affordable type of home
be a great investment for the taxpayer – 90,000 new social homes would boost the economy as well as support 140k jobs in the first year
Put simply, social homes are essential for people, communities and society - and right now, it has never been more urgent to fight for them.
Our open letter submission lets Chancellor Rachel Reeves know: the time to prioritise social housing is now.
Sign the open letterSocial homes have been sold off but not replaced
Social homes have been underfunded compared to other so-called 'affordable' housing
Simply not enough new social homes have been built
So much has been taken away simply by the removal of social housing as a primary option. We were part of a community. Safe, secure, stable.
Chris, who grew up in social housing
