Social housing saves local authorities an estimated £8bn a year, according to a new study on the economic impact of social housing.
The research, carried out by a team at Sonnet Advisory & Impact, calculated that England’s 4.2 million social rented homes contribute £77.7bn a year to the national economy.
This comes from savings for the NHS, councils, police and government, and in economic opportunities created for residents.
It also found that social housing saves councils £8bn a year by keeping residents out of temporary accommodation, helping the elderly stay independent, and because children living in social housing are less likely to be on the Child Protection Register.
Commissioned by the Hyde Group, the study also estimated that England is missing at least £25.25bn of value this year from the 1.4 million social homes that have been lost since 1979 due to Right to Buy, demolitions and conversion to other tenures.
