NHF says not all Section 106 homes up to standards after HBF study finds 8,500 homes uncontracted

She also claimed that housing associations have been engaging positively with a government clearing service set up to deal with the problem and encouraged HBF members to do the same.

Inside Housing reported in July that less than 10% of an estimated 17,400 uncontracted Section 106 homes in England and Wales have gone through Homes England’s clearing service since it was created at the start of the year.

Neil Jefferson, chief executive at the HBF, said the government is not doing enough to lift the blocks on delivering Section 106 homes – and claimed an estimated 100,000 private units have been stalled.

“While the government’s housing announcements have been welcome, as it stands, housing associations are unable to bid and private buyers are unable to buy, leaving the housing outlook increasingly uncertain,” Mr Jefferson said.

Responding to the data, a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said the figures are “not good enough” and claimed that the ministry is taking “decisive action” to make affordable homes available.

The spokesperson said: “We’ve already given housing providers financial stability to help them buy Section 106 homes so they are not [left] empty – with a new 10-year social rent settlement – and we will get Britain building the 1.5 million homes families across this country need.”

Ms Henderson added: “We’re committed to working with the government and developers to address these issues.”

She said it is a positive sign that, according to the HBF’s research, stalled Section 106 homes have more than halved compared to December last year.

But in its report, the HBF said the two datasets are not directly comparable, as the 8,500 estimated uncontracted homes relate only to homes being built or set to start work in a single year, whereas the 2024 study, based on a survey of 31 developers, spanned completions over a longer timeframe.