Beyond New Build: Repurposing Private Rented Housing to Deliver a New Generation of Social Homes for England

This resource, published by the New Economics Foundation and authored by Alex Diner, explores the pressing housing crisis in England and proposes innovative solutions for repurposing private rented housing to create a new generation of social homes.

The housing crisis in England has reached alarming levels, with millions facing insecurity, high rents, and poor living conditions. As of 2018/19, approximately 8.5 million people had unmet housing needs, with 4.2 million facing acute needs best addressed through social housing. This situation has worsened due to rising rents, homelessness risks from "no fault" evictions, and a significant reduction in the availability of social homes.

Since the introduction of the Right to Buy policy in 1980, over 2 million social homes have been sold, leading to a net reduction of 1.4 million. Local authorities, which previously played a vital role in building new homes, have significantly decreased their contributions. In the past 42 years, they have only built around 360,000 new homes, just 6% of the total housing supply. This drop in social housing availability has exacerbated the housing crisis, making it difficult for low-income families to find stable and affordable living conditions.

Existing government policies have failed to address the root causes of the housing crisis. Demand-side reforms such as Help to Buy have only inflated prices, while construction challenges hinder new home building. The report emphasizes that simply increasing housing supply is not enough; there must be a focus on improving the quality and affordability of existing private rented housing.

The report advocates for repurposing private rented homes into social housing as a sustainable solution. This approach aims to convert existing properties, which often suffer from poor quality and inefficiency, into social homes that better meet the needs of the community. The Homes for Us Alliance, formed by NEF and various social movements, seeks to develop policies that enable this transition effectively.

A significant portion of private rented housing in England is of poor quality. In 2021, around 900,000 homes were reported to have damp and mould, with 23% of PRS homes failing to meet the Decent Homes Standard. The report highlights that improving the energy efficiency of these homes could alleviate fuel poverty while also contributing to the UK’s carbon reduction targets.

Private renters currently spend an average of 33% of their income on rent, the highest among all tenures. The report argues that policies aimed at stabilizing and reducing rents in the private rented sector could relieve some of the financial burden on tenants. This would allow more households to access social housing, which is the most affordable tenure type.

The proposals outlined in this report aim to stimulate discussions about transforming the housing landscape in England. By prioritizing the repurposing of private properties into social housing, the report seeks to tackle the interconnected issues of supply, quality, and affordability, ultimately leading to a more equitable distribution of housing resources across the country.