Shelter slams ‘woefully inadequate’ social housing supply

There is currently only enough funding to provide one social home for every 96 households on the waiting list, according to Shelter.

In a new report out today (6 October), the homeless charity has called for urgent action to tackle the ‘woefully inadequate’ provision of new social homes in England.

The report calls for a targeted rescue package of £12.2bn over the next two years to fund a total of 50,000 new social homes, out of a total of 145,000 new affordable homes.

According to Shelter, a programme of this magnitude could kickstart the post-Covid recovery and reverse years of decline in social housebuilding.

A YouGov survey commissioned for the report also reveals that a quarter of private renting adults said their housing situation made lockdown harder to cope with.

The survey also found nearly one in five (19%) of adult private renters are constantly struggling with their rent or are already falling behind, and a third (35%) live in poor conditions, with electrical hazards, pests or damp-related issues in their home.

Nearly a third (29%) also said a lack of indoor living space made lockdown harder.

‘Our homes are our first line of defence in this pandemic,’ said Shelter chief executive, Polly Neate.

‘But millions have spent months trapped in private rentals they do not trust to keep them safe. And right now, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

‘After decades of decline, a dire lack of social homes means too many people, pay too much for cramped and poor-quality housing. Or worse yet they find themselves with nowhere to live. With the stakes so high, the case for building decent social homes is clear.

‘Before a thundercloud of homelessness breaks over us, the chancellor needs to be as swift and bold on housing as we’ve seen him be on jobs. By turbocharging investment in social housing today, we can build ourselves out of this pandemic and lay the foundations of a better future.’

In response, a government spokesperson said: ‘We do not recognise these figures. We’ve taken unprecedented action to protect renters including a six-month ban on evictions, as well as preventing people getting into financial hardship by helping businesses to pay salaries and boosting the welfare safety net by over £9bn.

‘Renters will continue to be protected through winter, including 6-month notice periods and instructing bailiffs not to enforce evictions in areas of local lockdown – anyone now served notice will not have to leave their home except in the most serious cases, such as anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse.

‘Anyone worried about losing their home and not having anywhere else to go should speak to their local council, which has a duty in law to help prevent them becoming homeless.’