England Allocates 70,000 Affordable Homes Under £39 Billion Plan as London Gets £6 Billion
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 24
England Allocates 70,000 Affordable Homes Under £39 Billion Plan as London Gets £6 Billion
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 24
Summary
Ministers said 70,000 social and affordable homes will be built across England over 10 years, with funding allocated to six mayoral areas and £6 billion set aside for London.
About 60% of the homes are earmarked for social rent, the first tranche of a wider £39 billion programme targeting 300,000 social and affordable homes nationwide.
The rollout comes against record pressure: 1.34 million households were on social-housing waiting lists in March 2025, and 177,530 children were in temporary accommodation earlier this month.
Housing groups welcomed the funding but said it falls well short of need, noting England built just over 12,000 social-rent homes in 2024-25 versus an estimated requirement of at least 90,000 a year.
The announcement also leaves gaps over how much will go to council housing versus housing associations, while Conservatives called it an unfunded pledge and said delivery could stretch to 2039.
With massive funding pledged for English housing, what hidden hurdles could prevent this 10-year plan from actually ending the homelessness crisis?
As Right to Buy depletes UK council properties, how can a new 300,000-home target realistically outpace the rapid loss of existing affordable housing?
Why might sending homeless London families to cheaper northern towns undermine the very goals of the government's ambitious new social housing strategy?