HUNDREDS of thousands of social and affordable homes, including 60 per cent for social rent, will be built and standards will be driven up under plans by the Deputy Prime Minister to usher in a decade of housing renewal across the country. 

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “This significant package of renewal will help deliver on our Plan for Change, unlock new jobs and turn the tide of the entrenched housing crisis, which has seen families and over 165,000 children stuck in temporary accommodation without the safe, secure and stable home they deserve. 

That’s why the government is today setting an ambition to deliver around 300,000 new social and affordable homes, through the unprecedented £39 billion new Social and Affordable Homes Programme announced at the Spending Review. Through this, we are setting an ambitious target that at least 60% of homes will be for social rent which is linked to local incomes – achieving this would mean delivering around 180,000 homes for social rent. That is six times more than the decade up to 2024. 

Alongside this, a long-term plan – Delivering a Decade of Renewal for Social and Affordable Housing – is being published today (Wednesday) to set out how the government will deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, alongside driving up the safety and quality of homes. 

Living standards for millions of social housing tenants will also be driven up under new plans to update and modernise the Decent Homes Standard, which will be extended to privately rented homes for the first time, and Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards will be implemented for the first time in the social housing sector.

Further measures set out in the plan includes transformative changes to Right to Buy and other measures to protect vital council housing stock, unlocking investment in new and existing social housing, and increasing overall standards alongside a rallying call for the sector to step up and deliver. 
   
“This significant package is the latest action the government is taking to deliver on the Plan for Change to build 1.5 million homes and drive-up living standards, which includes reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, the landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the recent announcement of a new publicly-owned National Housing Bank. This will further help to turn the tide on the housing crisis which has left over 165,000 children in temporary accommodation and locked a generation out of a secure home”. 

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “We are seizing this golden opportunity with both hands to transform this country by building the social and affordable homes we need, so we create a brighter future where families aren’t trapped in temporary accommodation and young people are no longer locked out of a secure home.  

“With investment and reform, this government is delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, unleashing a social rent revolution, and embarking on a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing in this country.  

“That’s why I am urging everyone in the social housing sector to step forward with us now to make this vision a reality, to work together to turn the tide on the housing crisis together and deliver the homes and living standards people deserve through our Plan for Change.”   

Since coming into office, the government has listened carefully to social housing providers and tenants. The new plan, published by the government today, reflects this engagement and builds on the investment strategy laid out at the Spending Review.

The five steps form the government’s plan to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, alongside a lasting change in the safety and quality of homes. 

Each step builds on work already undertaken to bring stability to the sector, but the Plan also publicly signals to developers, councils, investors and to the public the government’s serious intent and ambition for social and affordable housing. It also gives providers the stability and certainty they need to be able to borrow and invest in both new and existing homes knowing the government has a comprehensive plan for the sector. 

The five steps are to:    

1. Deliver the biggest boost to grant funding in a generation   
2. Rebuild the sector’s capacity to borrow and invest in new and existing supply  
3. Establish an effective and stable regulatory regime
4. Reinvigorate council housebuilding  
5. Forge a renewed partnership with the sector to build at scale 

To deliver the housing the country needs, the government confirmed at the Spending Review a new 10-year £39 billion programme to kickstart building at scale.  
   
Homes England – the government’s housing and regeneration agency – will be responsible for delivering the majority of the funding, with up to 30% of funding – up to £11.7bn over the 10 years – being used to support housing delivery from the Greater London Authority in the capital.    

The long-term nature of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme will also offer more certainty for developers to invest and effectively plan housebuilding for the future, compared to the previous five-year £12.3bn 2021-2026 Affordable Homes Programme.   

The last five year 2021-26 programme averaged £2.3 billion per year – this means the government will be spending almost double this on affordable housing investment by the end of this Parliament (£4bn in 2029/30).

To achieve the ambition of delivering more social and affordable housing, the government is issuing a ‘call to arms’ to everyone with a role in social and affordable housing to prove they can deliver at scale and at pace. And as part of this effort, we will work with the sector in the coming months to agree a joint overall target on how many social and affordable homes can be delivered overall. 
   
A new long-term 10-year settlement for social housing rents will be introduced from April 2026 to provide the social housing sector with the certainty they need to reinvest in existing and new housing stock.    

The government is also publishing a consultation on how to implement a convergence measure, with options for this being capped at £1 or £2 per week– with a final decision to follow at this year’s Autumn Budget.   
   
Further views will be sought on a new Decent Homes Standard which will modernise the standard, with proposals that hold tenant safety at their core but remain proportionate and affordable for providers to deliver. Views will also be sought on updating standards to make sure homes are warm and efficient through a Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard for the social rented sector. This is all alongside our work to implement Awaab’s Law – this government is prioritising safety as a first step.   
   
The government has also set out a package of wider reforms to the Right to Buy scheme to protect vital housing stock and to enable councils to ramp up delivery of new homes. This follows the reduction in maximum cash discounts that was implemented in November 2024.   
   
This package complements work already taking place to get Britain building including through the updated National Planning Policy Framework, the landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill and a new National Housing Bank to get more spades in the ground.    

ENDS