Latest figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and
Local Government (MHCLG) show that 57,485 affordable homes were
completed in England in the period between April 2018 and March
2019. Although this represents an increase of 22% compared to the
previous year, only 6,287 of those homes were for social rent.
Only 66% of new affordable homes in 2018/19 were provided for
rent (including social, affordable and intermediate rent) and the
percentage of affordable homes provided for rent has been
decreasing since 2014/15 when it was 78%.
Of the 57,485 affordable homes completed in 2018/19:
- 6,287 were for Social Rent
- 1,002 were for London Affordable Rent
- 29,135 were for Affordable Rent
- 1,401 were for Intermediate Rent
- 17,024 were for Shared Ownership
- 2,603 were for Affordable Home Ownership
- 33 were of unknown tenure
Nearly half (49%) of all affordable homes delivered in 2018/19
were funded through Section 106 Planning Agreements with
developers.
Read the full statistical release
ARCH Chief Executive John Bibby comments:
"Despite an increase in the total number of affordable homes
provided, the fact that only 2/3rds are for rent and only just over
10% are for social rent will be of little comfort to the 1.1
million people on council housing waiting lists or the growing
number of homeless households living in temporary
accommodation.
For so long as the supply of social rented housing continues
to dwindle the fact is that allocation of social housing will
continue to be "rationed" and will continue to be allocated only to
the poorest in society and those in desperate housing
need.
This will sadly but inevitable lead to the media and some
members of the public concluding that social housing is in fact
nothing more than "welfare housing" and will do little to tackle
the stigma identified in the Social Housing Green Paper.
We need to continue to make the case for an expansion of the
social rented housing building programme and get back to the
original status that social housing had under the Addison Act and
build homes fit for the heroes of today the nurses, care workers,
shop workers, lorry drivers who can't afford to buy and who are
struggling to afford private rents or even in some cases so called
"affordable rents" charged at up to 80% of local market
rents)
We also need to build more supported housing at social rents
to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and more specialist
housing for the elderly for an ageing population to help take the
pressure off the care system."