Earlier today MHCLG published new figures on affordable housing
delivery by Homes England and the Greater London Authority
covering 2025/26: Live tables on affordable
housing supply - GOV.UK
Housing Secretary said:
Social housing gives security and stability to families and helps
communities flourish.
For people stuck in temporary accommodation or on housing waiting
lists, these numbers show we are moving in the right direction
with starts up 35% since 2024 and completions rising again this
year but there is still more to be done to build the social and
affordable housing we need.
Our commitment is clear we are investing £39 billion over the
next ten years, protecting newly built social homes and bringing
in greater protections for social tenants.
Background guidance:
- In 2025-26, affordable housing starts by Homes England and
the GLA increased to 42,499 - up 26% compared to 2024-25 and up
35% compared to 2023/24.
- In 2025-26, affordable housing completions increased to
43,104 in 2025-26 - up 8% compared to the previous year.
- Starts under the 202126 Affordable Homes Programme have now
exceeded the lower end of the public target range of 110,000 to
130,000 homes, with 117,947 starts confirmed and thousands more
expected within the extension period.
On Right to Buy:
- The government is bringing forward overdue reforms to the
Right to Buy scheme to reverse the decline in much needed council
housing and better protect existing housing stock.
- Just before the government cut the maximum Right to Buy
discounts in November 2024, there was an expected increase in
people applying while the higher discounts were still available.
This is why sales are temporarily higher now in 2025/26.
- Sales are expected to fall back to around 1,700 a year once
the backlog of applications is processed. Over five years, the
lower discounts should mean about 25,000
fewer homes are sold keeping more of them in social
housing.
- Councils already have greater flexibility to use Right to Buy
receipts to build and buy more homes, including allowing
them to retain all receipts from sales to scale up delivery to
meet future housing need.
- New government analysis published this month shows the
combined package of reforms in the Social Housing Bill, alongside
measures already in force, will deliver a net gain of
around 18,000 social homes over the next 10
years.
