New affordable homes are ‘desperately needed’, warns housing charity as figures predict nearly 250,000 of the cheapest rented homes could be lost between 2012 and 2020.
Housing figures released by the Government last week revealed the total number of affordable homes available at social rent fell by more than 120,000 between 2012 and 2016.
More than 44,000 new homes were built for social rent over that period but more were lost because housing providers converted them to higher affordable rents to raise extra income or sold them under right to buy.
The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) forecast this would continue leading to a loss of 250,000 cheap rented houses by 2020.
The CIH’s projections suggest 161,669 of the social rent losses between 2012 and 2020 will come from local authorities while housing associations will have lost a further 82,485.
‘The loss of so many of these types of homes is extremely worrying at a time we need more not less,’ said CIH chief executive Terrie Alafat .
‘It is positive that the government has announced new investment in housing in recent months but many of the homes which will be funded will still be out of reach to many people.
‘What we’ve seen over the last four years is a very significant decline in the number of homes at social rent; the only type of accommodation which is accessible to a significant proportion of the population.
‘If the government really wants to solve our housing crisis it must recognise that building more homes at genuinely affordable rents will be crucial to help those who need housing the most.’
