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Social housing waiting lists fall 500,000 short of true total, analysis shows

The number of households in England in need of social housing is 1.6 million – 500,000 more than the 1.16 million households recorded on official waiting lists, according to analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF).

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Nearly eight million people in England are experiencing some form of housing need, new research by the NHF has found (picture: Getty)
Nearly eight million people in England are experiencing some form of housing need, new research by the NHF has found (picture: Getty)
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Social housing waiting lists fall 500,000 short of true total, @natfednews analysis shows #UKhousing

.@natfednews warns the social housing waiting list is set to grow in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic #UKhousing

“When the government’s Job Retention Scheme and ban on evictions end, we are likely to see people in need of social housing skyrocket,” says @KateNHF #UKhousing

A report published today by the NHF, titled People in Housing Need, found that nearly eight million people in England are experiencing some form of housing need and for 3.8 million of these people, social rented housing would be the most appropriate tenure.

The NHF said that some households have been on the waiting list for nearly two decades and warned that the number of people in need of social housing is set to rise rapidly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Only 6,338 new social homes were built last year – a fall of 84% since 2010 – while the NHF estimates that the number of people in need of social housing increased by 5% in the past two years.


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The largest number of people on the ‘real social housing waiting list’ are in the private rented sector where there are 1.5 million people in need, the analysis found.

Others are living in overcrowded, poor-quality or unsuitable homes.

The NHF called on government to put building social homes at the heart of its plans for economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in line with the trade body’s Homes at the Heart campaign, which Inside Housing is supporting.

Kate Henderson, chief executive of the NHF, said: “Today’s report shows that the sharp end of the housing crisis is getting sharper, and at a rapid rate.

“Underinvestment in social housing has left us with virtually no affordable homes available for people on the lowest incomes.

“The real tragedy is that these are same people impacted the most by the coronavirus crisis, which had led to huge job losses for low income workers.

“When the government’s Job Retention Scheme and ban on evictions end, we are likely to see people in need of social housing skyrocket.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said: “We do not recognise these figures which seem to be a major overestimation.

“Last week we announced the highest single funding commitment to affordable housing in a decade, unlocking a further £38bn in public and private investment in affordable housing.

“Between March 2010 and April 2019, we have delivered over 1.5 million new homes, including more than 450,000 affordable homes, and our new £12.2bn of investment will build up to 180,000 new homes across the country, half of which will be for affordable and social rent.”

Update: at 10.30am, 16.09.20

This story was edited to include MHCLG’s response.

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