Local authorities in England are set to lose over eight times as many council homes in 2025/26 as were completed the previous year, a think tank has estimated.
The number of council houses sold off is expected to rise dramatically from 8,656 in 2024/25 to just over 18,000 in 2025/26, according to research by Common Wealth.
Only 2,260 council homes were built in 2024/25.
The think tank called for more Government investment to accelerate the building of new council homes.
It also said councils should be given the right of first refusal when former social homes and private rental homes go up for sale.
Adam Peggs, report author and housing expert at Common Wealth, said: ‘We need to pull every effective lever we can find to expand public housing.’ He added: ‘The Government has the tools to turn this emergency around — and more quickly than they might admit — they just need to use them.’
