To make housing more affordable, we need to build more genuinely affordable homes - Healey responds to Affordable Housing Commission analysis

John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary, responding to new Affordable Housing Commission analysis showing that one in five households in England face housing affordability problems, said: 

“To make housing more affordable, we need to build more genuinely affordable homes.

“There has been a disastrous fall in the number of new homes for social rent under the Conservatives and we are now building over 30,000 fewer social rented homes a year than when Labour left office in 2010. 

“After nine years of failure on housing, a Labour Government will build a million low-cost homes, the majority for social rent, and kick-start the biggest council housebuilding programme in nearly 40 years.”

Ends

Notes to editors

• ·         Analysis released by the Affordable Housing Commission today (Thursday) suggests that 4.8 million households across England – one in five of all households - are facing unaffordable housing costs.

• ·         Figures on the number of social rented homes being built are available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/758193/Live_Table_1000.xlsx.