Without extra funding, the future of England's social housing looks ‘bleak’, council bosses have warned.
The warning follows a call from the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee for the Government to invest in the social housing sector and ensure 90,000 homes for social rent can be built in England every year.
A new report by the LUHC Committee sets out how financial pressures have seen providers build less social housing, exacerbating a ‘chronic’ shortage that has left a record 1.2 million households on council waiting lists in England.
It also criticises ministers’ failure to provide the social housing sector with the same access to funding as the private sector for fire and building safety work.
LUHC committee chair Clive Betts said: ‘There are pressing demands to invest in improving homes, so they are not blighted by mould, damp, and leaks, and to decarbonise the housing stock, and fix building safety defects. More social homes are needed.
‘The Government must act to fix this situation by committing to focus investment on building the social homes the country needs.’
A London Councils spokesperson said: ‘Without more government investment it is hard to see anything but a bleak future for social housing.’
The Local Government Association’s (LGA) housing spokesperson, Darren Rodwell, said: ‘The LGA has set out a six-point plan to spark a council house building renaissance, which must include urgent reform to the Right to Buy.
‘Long-term certainty on powers and funding could help councils deliver an ambitious build programme of 100,000 high-quality, climate-friendly social homes a year.’
