How we fought for home in 2025: building social homes and defending renters

From the largest investment in social housing in a generation to the (soon-to-be-implemented) transformation of private renting, 2025 was a year to remember for housing.

But with a year of significant change, we must not forget that thousands of people are struggling right now. 84,240 families started this year without the safety and security of a home. The fight for home has never been more urgent, and your support will help fuel it.

Build social homes

We kicked off 2025 with a bold campaign to demand funding for a new generation of social homes. It was ‘make-or-break time’ for the government’s commitment to a ‘new generation of social and affordable housing.'

In June, their Spending Review (where government departments make multi-year spending commitments) was an opportunity to secure the funding needed to secure the future for truly affordable social homes. Tens of thousands of you contacted the chancellor to urge her to invest in our communities, and she listened: £39bn over the next ten years. This was a 70% increase from last time. Your campaigning works!

And the campaign for more and better social homes wasn’t only national. Across towns and cities in England, Shelter is proud to support campaigns that urge local and regional authorities to build secure homes people can afford to rent. We called on councils to maximise their commitments to affordable homes in their local plans. And we called out councillors and developers when sites weren’t delivering enough social homes.

In Merseyside, the House Everyone in Liverpool Properly (HELP) campaign did both! Throughout 2025, campaigners urged Liverpool Council to increase its social housing commitments in their new Local Plan and at a site in the historic docks. Watch their 2025 highlights on Instagram.

They weren’t the only ones ambitious for local politicians to deliver more social homes through local plans. Campaigners in Plymouth and Lancashire also lobbied local government to boost social housing in their local plans (and if you live in Blackpool, keep an eye out for a new campaign coming to you soon). Additionally, Dorset’s Housing Action Collective worked diligently to ensure their local plan served the community and built homes that people can afford to live in.

In other areas, Shelter continued to support campaigners who sought more and better social homes from local developments. In the North-East, Fair Deal for Horden, local people rallied together to make sure a redevelopment delivered quality affordable homes, as did Birmingham Fair Housing Campaign.

Norwich Renters Collective continued their long fight for more social homes at Anglia Square. In addition to fighting for more social homes, we supported people to defend and maintain the ones they have - launching a campaign to improve conditions in social housing in Sheffield.

A fairer housing system – free from racism and discrimination

Even with all our voices demanding more social homes, we know that not everyone has equal access to truly affordable housing.

Black-led families are less than half as likely to secure a social home than White-led families. So in July, we launched our first-ever national anti-racism campaign. More than 10,000 of you called on the Secretary of State for Housing to demand anti-racist training and stricter rules on how social homes are managed and let.

By October, your pressure helped secure a key milestone: the government directed the Regulator of Social Housing on the new Competence and Conduct Standard. They confirmed that equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), alongside awareness of a range of needs and vulnerabilities (such as disabilities), will be included in the qualification’s course content.

While this is a welcome step forward, EDI alone is not enough. True anti-racism requires actively changing the systems that produce racial inequality, and our campaign will continue to push for deeper, more meaningful reform.

Rights for renters

Throughout the year, Bristol Fair Renting Campaign worked hard to:

• demand their MPs to push for rent control powers through the Devolution Bill

• urge the council to deliver on the Living Rent Commission recommendations

• join campaigners nationwide calling for rent control in the Homes for Everyone coalition

And finally, in November, after years of campaigning, the Renters Rights Bill became the Renters’ Rights Act. As of this year, renters will see:

• an end to no-fault evictions

• an end to discriminatory policies and indefinite tenancies

• and so much more.

Discover what the Renters’ Rights Act means for England’s 11 million renters.

Looking ahead

None of this would have happened without you. When we come together, we make change happen.

Find out about what your nearest local campaign got up to this year - and help us do even more in 2026.

Donate today to fuel the fight for home.