Property experts warn ‘more needs to be done’ on £350m housing funding

A £350m investment into affordable and social housing by the government has been welcomed but property experts warn “more needs to be done”.

Housing secretary Angela Rayner has insisted the government “can’t afford not to” hit its 1.5m housebuilding targets, as officials unveiled an extra £300m in funding for the affordable homes programme, which they say will result in up to 2,800 extra homes being built.

While some £50m will also be given to the local authority housing fund, with the expectation that this will produce “over 250” more council homes.

Labour pledged to build 1.5m homes over the course of the Parliament, but there have been warnings of a shortage of construction workers available to fulfil the promise.

According to housing charity Shelter, in the 1960s 1.24m social homes were built compared to 150,000 in the 2010s.

Affordable and social rent homes have historically been classed as 80 and 50 per cent of market rental value respectively, although this definition is less fixed.

David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Redrow, warned in December that a skills shortage meant hitting the target was unachievable, adding: “They’re challenging targets, I think we have to recognise that this is a national crisis.”

But the deputy prime minister has told broadcasters: “We will meet that target because we can’t afford not to… we’re determined to turn that tide.”

It comes on top of £500m that was earmarked for affordable housing in October’s Budget.

Responding to the government’s announcement, Boris White, partner at Ceres Property, told CityAM: “The latest promise of an additional £350m should help to bring a much needed boost to affordable housing stock levels.

“However, it’s fair to say that more needs to be done to ensure the issue is suitably addressed in the long-term.”

While Stephanie Pollitt, housing programme director at BusinessLDN, added that while boosting funding was an “absolute must”, it should quickly be followed with a “spending review commitment” which “fully reflects the scale of the UK’s housing crisis”.

She also called for “steps to reform the planning system and deliver the government’s ambitions for new towns” and highlighted London’s “existing infrastructure making it the ideal test bed for getting shovels in the ground quickly on tens of thousands of new homes”. 

But shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake said the real issue with Labour’s housing plans was immigration into Britain.

He said: “Labour’s housebuilding plans will do nothing to address the shortage of housing because immigration will just keep piling on the pressure.

“Under new leadership, the Conservatives have put forward clear and deliverable plans to cut the high levels of immigration and it’s a disgrace that Labour won’t support them.”