During the same April to September period last year, 73 per cent of all starts on site were for living spaces classified as ‘affordable homes’.
This time, 2,095 of the accommodations started on site were classified for Affordable Rent, an increase of 25 per cent according to official figures released today.
Another 1,751 starts were for Intermediate Affordable Housing schemes, including Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy, for an increase of 19 per cent.
Fewer new Social Rent sites
Site starts intended for Social Rent declined 8 per cent, however, to 799.
Michael Gove, the secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, said in June that the Government was “unlikely” to meet its housebuilding targets for the year.
When it came to completed housing, 65 per cent, or 7,848 completions, were for affordable homes, a drop from 70 per cent a year ago. The Government said the decline was mainly because the Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme (SOAHP) 2016-21 was no longer accepting new projects because they had shifted to the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021-26.
Of the affordable homes completed in this period, 3,670 were for Affordable Rent, a drop of 31 per cent. Another 3,055 completions classified as Intermediate Affordable Housing Schemes represented a decline of 15 percent whilst there was a four per cent decline in completions for Social Rent, down to 1,123.
‘A challenging environment’
Peter Denton, the Homes England chief executive, said: “Our partners are operating in a challenging environment with many macro-economic pressures, including material, labour shortages, and rising cost inflation. All have impacted delivery. This slight decline in numbers is also not unexpected during the transitional period between two programmes.”
He added that these partners would probably face continued pressures in the near term.
Properties created under Homes England are funded by the central government to help builders, communities and local authorities to create affordable housing. Numbers on new sites and completions are published twice a year. The next data release is set for next May/June.
