4,000 new homes stalled due to social rent cuts

The District Council’s Network (DCN) has warned that the building of approximately 4,000 new homes has been stalled due to funding gaps caused by cuts to social housing rents.

According to research by the DCN, the reduction of social housing rents by one per cent announced in the Summer Budget is forecast to lose £718.6 million over the next four years.

The DCN claims that to plug the revenue gap councils will likely have to cut spending on new social housing, with about 4,000 homes already stalled. The research also suggests that only one in eight homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme have been replaced, meaning the availability of social housing is rapidly deteriorating.

The DCN plans to call on Communities Secretary Greg Clark to review government housing policies or risk cutting the supply and quality of social housing in England.

DCN chairman Neil Clarke said: “Ministers must act on an evidence base which strongly indicates a double bind of less funding for new housing stock and a shrinking availability of social homes alongside the more rapid deterioration of remaining stock.

“Failure to reconsider the impact of these policies would be an abdication of responsibility to thousands of hard-working families across England who deserve the chance to either take a first step on the property ladder or live in decent social housing where quality standards are maintained.”

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