Ben Cooper Column: ‘We need to ‘build baby build’ social housing to meet the 1.5m new homes target’

There is no path to tackling England’s housing crisis without building 1.5m new homes in this parliament. To deliver this, the country will need to expand housebuilding rapidly and reverse the 41% decline in homes built since the 1970s. Indeed, this government will need to set a new record for homes started in a single year – beating the current one of 300,520 homes in 1972-73. 

A wide coalition of organisations will need to put their shoulder to the wheel, backed by the government. That means freeing up developers big and small to build homes for rent or sale on the open market. And it especially means supporting councils and housing associations.

READ MORE: Deborah Mattinson Column: Putting ‘local’ at the heart of Labour’s plan for government

But councils and housing associations simply aren’t building enough. In the 1970s, they were building around 121,000 homes a year. Over the past decade, they built an average of 31,000 homes annually. Councils, in particular, have stopped building. They built 41% of homes in the 1970s, but just 1% over the past decade. 

The collapse in building by both councils and housing associations accounts for 83 per cent of the total decline in housebuilding over the past half century. Had they continued to build at the same numbers over the past decade as they used to, England would have an extra 900,000 homes – more than London’s entire housing target for the next decade (880,00 homes).

Years of austerity under Conservative-led governments created significant financial strain within councils and housing associations, preventing them from building. Cuts to capital investment and social rents left social housing providers with a shortfall of billions of pounds. As a result, they prioritised using their limited funding on maintaining existing properties and meeting their legal duties, rather than building new homes.    

This has had a knock-on effect on private developers too. The Home Builders Federation found at least 700 sites over the past three years have stalled because social landlords don’t want to buy the affordable homes required under what are commonly referred to as ‘Section 106’ powers. Often, social housing providers are uninterested in buying what can be unsuitable properties – built without consultation on quality or design. Too often, councils or housing associations are forced to ‘take or leave’ affordable homes – with many sites rendered unviable because no provider bids for the properties. 

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The consequences are clearest in London. The collapse in housebuilding is the legacy of 14 years of Conservative’ failure to ensure that different kinds of housebuilders can build. Last week, the government was forced to temporarily relax the affordable housing requirements in London, just to get some homes built. This is a short-term necessity, and it just shows how urgent fixing this problem is.

We need a new approach, which utilises social and affordable housing as a catalyst for wider housebuilding, rather than perceiving it as a drag on private developers. 

In the Spending Review earlier this year, the government announced £39bn over 10 years for social and affordable housing. This historic investment will unlock thousands of new homes across England, including around 180,000 social homes for councils and housing associations. However, we are still waiting for more detail on how the Social and Affordable Homes Programme will work. The forthcoming Budget should set out the precise details of this, so councils and social housing providers can start building once again. 

Collaboration will be crucial to make the most of this opportunity. Developers, councils and housing associations must work together more closely when planning affordable and social housing provision under Section 106 powers. Without a more collaborative and transparent process, there is a risk that housing built under these powers remains unattractive to social housing providers, thereby blocking development. 

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Without councils and housing associations, the 1.5m new homes target is a near impossible feat. The government needs to unleash the capacity of these providers to build more, and unlock stalled sites with thousands of good quality, affordable homes. 

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