“My Ministers will bring
forward legislation to
increase long-term investment
in social housing”
- Everyone deserves to live in a decent, safe, secure and
affordable home. Yet far too many families in need of a social
rented home are languishing on local authority waiting lists,
forced to struggle in the private rented sector or in expensive
temporary accommodation, driving up rents and housing benefit
costs in the process. At the same time, the ability and
willingness of social housing providers to invest in the building
of new social rented homes is undermined by the steady and
significant loss of existing stock through the Right to Buy
scheme.
- The Bill will protect much needed social housing stock, give
affordable housing providers the clarity and confidence they need
to build more social homes, and better protect tenants who are
victims of domestic abuse by providing them with greater security
and stability. The Bill delivers on the manifesto commitments to
prioritise the building of new social rented homes and better
protect our existing stock. It builds on the funding and
regulatory certainty that the Government has provided to the
sector and supports the five-step plan published in July 2025 to
deliver a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing.
What does the Bill
do?
- The Bill has three core objectives. First, to protect
much-needed social housing stock and thereby incentivise the
building of more social rented homes. Second, to create a
fairer system with greater protections for tenants in instances
of domestic abuse. Third, to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and
give providers greater regulatory certainty so that they can
invest in new social and affordable homes with confidence.
Protect existing social housing stock and incentivising
the building of more social homes.
- The Right to Buy scheme provides an important route for
social housing tenants to own their own homes. However, many of
the homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme have not been
replaced. Not only has
this depleted much-needed stock, but it has also reduced the
motivation and confidence of councils to build, and restricted
broader investment in council housing. Measures in the Bill will
increase the eligibility requirement to 10 years, amend
percentage discounts to better align with new maximum cash
discounts and exempt newly built social housing for 35 years. The
Bill will also ensure that councils and other potential buyers
are notified before social homes are sold to maximise
opportunities to retain stock.
Protect tenants
who are
victims of
domestic abuse
by providing
them with greater security and
stability.
- All social housing tenants deserve to live in decent homes,
to be treated with fairness and respect, and to have their
problems resolved quickly. Measures in the Bill will increase
protections for victims of domestic abuse to remain in their
property away from their abuser or move to suitable alternative
accommodation.
Clarify the
statute book
and reduce
unnecessary bureaucracy,
so providers can
invest in new
social and
affordable homes
with confidence.
- The Bill will repeal unimplemented provisions from previous
legislation that would not have worked in the interests of
tenants or providers. These include requirements for local
authorities to sell high-value homes, grant flexible
(fixed-term) tenancies, and to charge higher income tenants
higher rents. It will also reduce bureaucracy for councils by
streamlining housing consents.
Territorial extent and
application
- The Bill will extend to England and Wales, but apply to
England only.
Key facts
-
The social housing sector plays a critical role in
our housing system, making up approximately 16 per cent of
all households in England. It is home to a large
proportion of vulnerable groups, with 61 per cent of
households having at least one member with a long-term
illness or disability, and 50 per cent of households in the
lowest income quintile (English Housing Survey 2024-25).
-
This country has not built enough social and
affordable housing for decades. Over 175,000
children are living in temporary accommodation, and more than
1.3 million households are on local authority waiting lists
for social housing. Between 2015 and 2025, the number of
households on local authority
housing registers increased by approximately 6.7 per cent
(equating to around 84,000 households) (Local Authority Housing
Statistics open data: 2024-25).
-
Social and affordable housing is critical to boosting
housing supply overall. Almost one in three of all
new homes built in recent years are social or affordable - in
2024-25, there were nearly 60,000 social and affordable new
build completions (Affordable Housing Supply in England:
2024-25). However, the path to 1.5 million homes requires
further growth in this sector and social house building
remains far below its peak in the 1950s and 1960s.
-
Over two
million tenants
have bought
their homes
under the
Right to Buy scheme
since its introduction in 1980, though much of this stock has
never been replaced and the threat of losing homes through
the scheme reduces the
motivation and
confidence of
councils to
build. Between April 2012 and March 2025,
there have been around 133,000 council Right to Buy sales
with over 51,000 homes replaced over the same period (Right
to Buy sales and replacements, England: April 2024 to March
2025).
- In 2024-25, 39,410 households were considered homeless, or
threatened with homelessness, where the reason for the loss of
their last settled home was domestic abuse (Statutory
Homelessness in England: Financial year 2024-25). The Bill will
look to provide additional protections to those individuals in
the social housing sector.
-
The Chief
Executive of
the National
Housing Federation,
Kate Henderson, said
“At a time when
4.2 million people are
in need of social
housing in England, we strongly support
the Government's aim to protect the country's social housing
and welcome confirmation that Right to Buy will not be
extended to housing associations… The outcome from the
various measures the Government is taking should mean that
the Right to Buy is a much more sustainable scheme than it
has been since 2012.”
