A think-tank has warned that a lack of cash for affordable housing will make political parties’ ambitious housebuilding targets difficult to achieve.
Labour has pledged to deliver 1.5m homes in England by 2029 and the Tories have committed to 1.6m in the same period.
But the Resolution Foundation said the lack of new funding for affordable housing would make it ‘extremely challenging’ for either of the main parties to get ‘remotely close’ to their targets.
The think-tank warned of pitfalls if affordable housing delivery is left to private developers, arguing that they are often accused of negotiating down their obligations.
The foundation also raised concerns that neither manifesto pledged to permanently link Local Housing Allowance to local rents.
Senior Resolution Foundation economist Cara Pacitti said she welcomed the new policy consensus on the need to increase housebuilding.
She added: ‘But whoever wins the next election will struggle to hit these stretching targets without significantly more funding in place to boost affordable house building, and to support low-income families with rising rents.
‘Britain’s new housing consensus desperately needs new cash for it to deliver.’
