True scale of housing crisis laid bare in NHF report

A new report has revealed the true scale of England’s housing crisis saying we need to be building 340,000 new homes a year (including 90,000 for social rent) up to 2031.

The National Housing Federation and Crisis report said there was a total deficit of some four million homes and that we need to be building above the Government target of 300,000 homes per year.

The report said housing is urgently needed for the homeless; “boomerang” generation adults still living with their parents; couples who would otherwise have separated, and people in flat shares who would have moved out.

However, the shortage can only be addressed if we build the right type of homes. The report says that 145,000 of these new homes must be affordable, of which:

• 90,000 should be for social rent
• 30,000 should be for intermediate affordable rent
• 25,000 should be for shared ownership

The social housing sector is calling on the Government to take serious steps on the matter before it publishes its social housing green paper in the summer. You can read the full press release here.