Social housing still in crisis 4 years after MPs’ warning

Report demands investment to tackle chronic shortages

THE Government must invest in social housing to address a “chronic” shortage it was warned about four years ago, a cross-party group of MPs has warned.

Parliament’s Levelling Up Committee said that there is still the severe shortage which it identified in a 2020 report, along with its recommendation to regulate and invest in the sector to deliver 90,000 social rent homes a year.

Though its MPs noted that the sector is currently “relatively financially resilient”, it is also under serious financial pressure, with additional bills for decarbonisation, fire safety and regenerating old homes.

“At the same time, the maximum rent social housing providers can charge has been unexpectedly capped by the Government,” it added.

The report, published today, found that providers have cut the amount they plan to spend on building new social homes.

“This comes at a time when the country needs to build significantly more social housing and if this continues it will present a major problem for individuals that need social housing,” it added.

Providers have faced “significant additional costs” for necessary fire safety work, the report said, but described an “unhelpful disparity between the private and social housing sectors”.

The report said: “There is no justification for private sector landlords to be treated more favourably.

“We once again reiterate the recommendation from our 2020 report, The Regulation of Social Housing, that ‘social housing providers must have exactly the same access to funds for building safety remediation as private sector landlords.’”

Labour MP and committee chair Clive Betts, inset, said: “The social housing sector is crucial for providing shelter and support for millions of households.

“Social landlords are, however, buffeted by a range of serious financial pressures. There is a chronic social housing shortage. 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.”

The Local Government Association, which represents local authorities, said: “Long-term certainty on powers and funding could help councils deliver 100,000 high-quality, climate-friendly social homes a year.”

The committee recommended that the Government should publish an annual assessment of the capacity of and targets for the delivery of the overall housing market including social housing.

Clare Miller, chief executive of Clarion Housing Group, said what was a housing crisis “has become a housing emergency” and said she welcomed the committee’s report as it “reaffirm(s) the urgent need for government investment”.

“As we head towards a general election, I’d like to see commitments from all parties to bring forward the investment we need to deliver on a plan for housing.”

It comes after warning that a lack of social housing and an insecure private rental system is leading people into homelessness.

Housing is one of the political challenges of the modern age with chronic shortages leading to many people being priced out of ever buying a home of their own.

This crisis, which has gone on for such a long time that people would be forgiven for being inured to it, has engulfed the housing market on multiple fronts.

And the latest report from a cross-party group of MPs on social housing is a cause for concern.

People most in need are at risk of falling even further behind as social housing providers find themselves having to cut the amount they plan to spend on building new social homes.

The sector is facing huge bills for decarbonisation, fire safety and regenerating old homes. While the maximum rent social housing providers can charge has also been unexpectedly capped by the Government.

Housing providers need to decarbonise and ensure fire safety as well as look to regenerate old homes. And there needs to be a level or rent control.

But it is important to ensure that the sector is also supported so that it doesn’t find itself in a position where it is having to offset these rising costs by cutting the number of houses it builds.

Providers are facing “significant additional costs” for necessary fire safety work, according to the report, and there is an “unhelpful disparity between the private and social housing sectors”.

Social housing providers should have the same access to funds for building safety remediation as private landlords.

The next Government will have a major task on its hands when it comes to fixing what is a broken housing market.

It should start by offering complete clarity over housing targets including social housing.