The number of people stuck on waiting lists for council housing is rising across most of England, and pressures are expected to worsen without urgent intervention
The council house waiting list in England could reach a staggering two million within a decade if political leaders don’t take urgent action, according to new research.
Experts issued the warning as the waiting list for social housing rose to its highest level since 2014, with demand for affordable homes outstripping the number being built. The North East’s Labour mayor said the “abject lack of social housing is holding our families and region back” as it emerged waiting lists were rising faster in her patch than anywhere else.
Local authority housing registers have increased by 28% in the North East and 20% in the North West between 2021 and 2024, according to analysis by property consultants JLL.
The firm says demand for social housing is increasing but not enough homes are being built. The housing waiting list grew by 43,000 last year and could pass two million before 2034 if current trends continue, it’s feared.
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The Government described the figures as “unacceptable” but vowed to take urgent action through Labour’s 1.5 million homes pledge and by delivering “the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation”. JLL warns that at current building rates it would take 21 years to clear England’s current waiting list for social housing, rented out to people who can’t afford to buy or rent on the open market.
The homes are supplied by councils or registered private providers, such as housing associations. But in most parts of the country demand for cheaper housing is growing quicker than the number of homes available.
Of England’s 10 regions only one – the East of England – has seen social housing waiting lists go down in the last three years, while the North, London and the South West have all seen numbers rise above the national average.
Marcus Dixon, Director of UK Residential Research at JLL, said: “The 43,000 increase in the number of households on the social housing waiting list is a stark reminder that while government housing targets remain ambitious, we must find a way to deliver more affordable homes at scale. Just to hold waiting list numbers steady, we’d have needed to have seen almost 70% more affordable homes delivered in the last 12-month period.”
He adds: “Delivery of additional affordable homes has hovered around 60,000 units per annum for a few years now. It is abundantly clear that the current approach to delivery and funding isn’t sufficient to address the undersupply.”
Tracy Harrison, chief executive of the Northern Housing Consortium, said more and more people in the North of England on the lowest incomes were being forced into the private rented sector where rents are higher.
She added: “This, combined with the cost-of-living crisis and local housing allowance freezes, means social housing waiting lists are rising rapidly. Traditionally, housing poverty was seen as a problem in London and the South East, but sadly it’s also a big issue in the North. Twenty-three per cent of the Northern population – and 32 per cent of children – are pushed into poverty after housing costs, more than the English average.
“The Government has committed to building 1.5 million new homes over this parliament and social housing must be a significant part of this. We’re urging the Government to commit to a long-term affordable homes programme, with social rent as the biggest tenure, at the spending review this summer.”
Since 2012, nearly 33,000 council houses in Northern England have been sold via Margaret Thatcher’s Right To Buy scheme, with just 5,000 new social homes built. Housing Secretary Angela Rayner has promised to review Right To Buy to make it more sustainable and increase the country’s stock of affordable housing.
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Mairi MacRae of charity Shelter, said the lack of genuinely affordable social homes has caused homelessness to soar and left thousands of families with little hope of securing a stable home. She said: “The impact of this is devastating. Children are growing up in damaging temporary accommodation, while communities are being torn apart as people are priced out of their local areas – leaving their jobs, children’s schools and support networks behind.
“If we are serious about clearing social housing waiting lists and ending homelessness for good, investing in a new generation of genuinely affordable social homes is non-negotiable. The Government must commit enough investment at the next Spending Review to build 90,000 social rent homes per year for a decade.”
In the North East, Labour mayor Kim McGuinness said: “The North East’s abject lack of social housing is holding our families and region back. We have made the first steps since I was elected last year with a £10.7m scheme to build more than 100 new homes in East Durham including new council housing, and approved major schemes in Newcastle and Sunderland, but we need to go much further.
“We need to get more spades in the ground as a matter of urgency, and think creatively about where we can build new homes, supporting opportunities such as the Leamside Line Investment Corridor – so we’re not just creating new transport links, but new communities too.
“I’m working with the Treasury, Ministers and Homes England to deliver just that, and bring more forward more investment and powers to local leaders so we can get on with the job – and deliver for the families who have been locked out of housing for far too long.”
A Government spokesperson said: “These figures are unacceptable. We are taking urgent action to address this through our Plan for Change, building 1.5 million homes this Parliament and delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
“Local government has suffered from years of short-term decisions, so we have already set out important steps to help them deliver the homes we need, including overdue reforms to the Right to Buy scheme and an extra £500 million for the Affordable Homes Programme. We will set out further measures in due course.”