New housing investment will need clearer priorities and stronger tracking if it is to deliver the homes the country needs, according to a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO).
The report examines Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) programmes that aim to unlock land for housing development. Since 2016, the department has allocated £10.5bn to a range of schemes intended to create capacity for around 713,000 homes.
To date, just over 33,000 homes are known to have been built on land supported by these programmes, although MHCLG has not consistently tracked build-out across all schemes.
From April 2026, MHCLG plans to launch a £21bn National Housing Delivery Fund (NHDF), bringing together existing land-unlocking programmes and broader housing interventions, alongside a new housing bank within Homes England.
The NAO says the new fund presents an opportunity to improve value for money but warns that success will depend on clearly defining its purpose, priorities and risk appetite.
Its report recommends improved monitoring of both land unlocked and homes delivered, clearer engagement with local government, and long-term evaluation of outcomes.
Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: ‘The success of the new National Housing Delivery Fund will depend on government setting clear ambitions and priorities for investment alongside its approach to risk management, so that public spending genuinely helps unlock the homes the country needs.’
Cllr Tom Hunt, chair of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Inclusive Growth Committee, said: ‘Our communities desperately need new homes, and programmes within the National Housing Delivery Fund will help deliver the land and homes needed.
‘To truly maximise the number of new homes brought forward through the National Housing Delivery Fund, councils should be given access to the £2.5bn in low-cost loans made available in the National Housing Bank.’
An MHCLG spokesperson said: ‘Whilst tens of thousands have already come forward, we know that on the most complex sites this can take time and there’s more for us to do.
‘But we’re pulling every lever to tackle the housing crisis, including overhauling the planning system, committing billions in new funding and reinstating local housing targets to help build 1.5 million new homes.’
