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England

Let's build social housing

More social housing would end the housing emergency, it’s that simple.

A severe lack of social housing is the main cause of England's housing emergency. We must demand a new generation of good-quality social rent homes people can afford.

If the government built 90,000 social rent homes a year, we could ensure people have the solid foundation needed to lead happy, healthy lives.

Why isn't there enough social housing?

  • mass loss in social rent homes - homes are sold off but never replaced

  • insufficient funding put toward social homes vs other types of so-called 'affordable' homes

  • we simply aren't building enough new social homes

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

The impact this is having on people

  • 300,000 people currently homeless and the number of people sleeping rough has doubled since 2010

  • 151,000 children growing up in temporary accommodation - the highest number on record

  • 1.3 million households on social housing waiting lists - forcing people into unsuitable, unaffordable, and unstable private renting

The solution

Building good-quality social homes is the only long-term solution to fixing this mess that's left people in dire circumstances, struggling both physically and mentally.

We’ve already campaigned to ensure social housing is better regulated and to reduce the price of land to make it more affordable for councils to deliver social homes. Now we need commitments from all political parties that they will build the 90,000 new social rent homes.

Did you know?

In 1969 we delivered more social housing than we did in the last 12 years!

More on this...

The action you can take

Join the campaign

Hear from some familiar faces about how social housing helped them personally - providing the foundations needed to thrive! #MadeinSocialHousing.

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Share your story

We think it's time society valued social housing again and your personal stories help us show that value and make the government listen.

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Help fund our campaigns

Our campaigning activity is powered by your generous donations and we can't do it without you. Give today to boost our chance of success.

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The benefits everyone would feel

Building more social housing wouldn’t just be beneficial for the tenants. Recent research by Shelter and the National Housing Federation found that building 90,000 social homes a year would:

  • pay for itself within three years

  • add over £50 billion to the economy over 30 years

  • support 140k direct jobs in the first year

For more information, read our new report, 'Brick by Brick', which outlines six key areas that the government must address to meet the target of 90,000 social homes a year.

Put simply, social housing is valuable for people, communities and society and right now, it's never been more urgent to fight for it.

On 30 July, the government published proposals and a consultation to reform planning. Together, we must make sure that any reforms prioritise social rent homes. Will you help strengthen our response to these proposals?

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