Skip to main content
Shelter Logo
England

Social housing

View of housing with tree blossom

Campaigning for change

We urgently need long-term, large-scale action to address our chronic lack of social housing.

  • What is social housing?
    Find out why social housing is the only truly affordable, secure housing option for people across the country.

  • The story of social housing
    Learn how social housing has changed over the years, and what we must do to revive it.

  • Let's build social housing
    Now we've helped secure £39bn in government investment for the next 5-10 years; now we need campaigners to ensure it is spent on social rent homes rather than other so-called 'affordable' housing.

  • Craig David lends his voice for social housing

    Shelter took Craig David and his mum Tina back in time to his childhood social home in Southampton’s Holyrood Estate. Now he's making an urgent plea for more social housing.

  • Our Made in Social Housing campaign
    We teamed up with people who grew up in social housing - including some faces you might recognise – to call for the building of thousands of social homes, and an end to the housing emergency.

  • The progress we've made
    Read about the Social Housing Regulation Act and how this is enabling positive change for those in social rent homes.

Why we need more social housing

Levels of public housebuilding have plummeted dramatically, leading to a sharp increase in families stuck in expensive, poor-quality, insecure, privately rented homes.

Get advice