Shelter: 1.15 million households stuck on social housing waiting lists, while there was a net loss of over 17,000 social homes in the last year

• New government figures for 2019 show more than 1.15 million households are currently waiting for a social home in England – this has increased by 4% in the last year 

• Meanwhile there are over 17,000 fewer social homes than last year, as 23,740 were sold or demolished and a paltry 6,287 social rent homes were delivered. Even more social rent homes have been lost through conversion to less affordable forms of renting. 

• In the last decade there has been a net loss of almost 60,000 social homes through sales and demolitions not replaced.  

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “With over a million families in desperate need of social housing, it is absolutely outrageous that we are haemorrhaging thousands of secure social homes every year. These homes cannot afford to be lost.   

“Homes are being sold off or demolished with no replacements built. All the while families are forced to live in overcrowded conditions, single parents are making the impossible choice of eating or paying the rent, and children are growing up homeless in grim B&Bs. 

“Too many people are spending years waiting for a social home that isn’t coming. The government has said now is the time invest in the future – they must ensure a new generation of social homes is part of that future. With the budget just around the corner, housing cannot be ignored when the government gets its chequebook out.” 

ENDS 

Notes to editors: 

• In 2019 there were 1,157,285 households on the waiting list for social housing. This is available at: MHCLG, Live tables on rents, lettings and tenancies, Table 600 
• The net loss of social homes in the last year is calculated by comparing the 2018/19 number of social rent homes completed (6,287) with the 2018/19 number of social homes lost through sales (19,389) and demolitions (4,351). It is assumed sales and demolitions were previously let at social rent. This results in a net loss of 17,453 social homes.  

• We looked at data from 2009/10 to 2018/19 to work out the net loss of social homes in the last ten years. In the last ten years 174,224 social rent homes were completed whilst 165,986 social homes were lost through sales and 67,393 were lost through demolitions. Even more social rent homes are likely to have been lost through the conversion of social rent to other less affordable forms of renting.   
• The number of social rent homes that were completed is available at: MHCLG, Live Tables on affordable housing supply, Table 1006C  
• The number of social homes that were lost through sales is available at: MHCLG, Live tables on social housing sales, Table 678 
• The number of social homes that were lost through demolitions is available at: MHCLG, Live tables on social housing sales, Table 684 
• We have assumed that all the social homes lost through sales and demolitions are social rent homes.