LGA responds to Building Back Britain Commission report on housing shortage

Responding to new research by the Building Back Britain Commission which has found that hundreds of thousands of new homes will be needed across the North and the Midlands, Cllr David Renard, Local Government Association housing spokesperson, said:

“This latest report on the severe shortage of homes in some areas of the country underlines the chronic need to build more social housing where it is most needed and the role councils need to be able to play to tackle this crisis.  

“As part of the Government’s ambition to level up the nation and build back better, we are calling for councils to be given the powers and resources to deliver 100,000 social homes for rent each year.

“This should include further reform to Right to Buy, by allowing councils to retain 100 per cent of receipts, have flexibility to combine Right to Buy receipts with other government grants and be able to set the size of discounts locally.

“Building social housing on this scale would shorten council housing waiting lists, boost home ownership, reduce homelessness and cut carbon emissions, while delivering a multi-billion long-term boost to the economy.”