Repurposing private rental housing to deliver a new generation of social housing in England
Britain’s housing crisis, years in the making, has reached boiling point. Instead of providing a stable foundation for our lives, our housing system is a source of insecurity, hardship, anxiety, and ill health for millions.Private renters face rising rents, increased risk of homelessness and of““for no fault” and live in extremely poor quality, energy inefficient and dangerous housing, often riddled with damp and mold. Millions experience dire housing needs, languishing on social housing waiting lists and in temporary accommodation Struggling. Social tenants remain marginalized. Homeownership is increasingly out of reach for millions, while homeowners face devastating increases in housing costs. Social landlords face budget constraints that prevent them from investing in new homes and maintenance The capacity of the existing home.
Existing policy solutions fail to address the core problems of our broken system. Demand-side reforms – such as help-to-buy or stamp duty cuts – have already cost taxpayers billions, but only drive up demand and prices further. We desperately need more housing supply, but we are failing to build enough housing — especially social housing — to meet demand. Furthermore, the delivery of new homes does not, by itself, significantly improve the affordability of our homes. In any case, the construction industry faces a huge challenge in building new homes in the current economic climate, and meeting the (now non-mandatory) homebuilding target will keep the UK from meeting its carbon reduction target commitments by 2050.
Faced with these daunting challenges, NEF formed the Homes for Us Alliance, composed of tenants and organizations from health, racial justice, housing, and other social movements to build power, develop policy, and create movements for change. After discussing and setting direction with the coalition, NEF produced this document as a submission to the coalition.
Since the introduction of the right to purchase in 1980, housing has flowed from the social sector – characterized by relatively high affordability and security of tenure – to the private rented sector (PRS) – characterized by low quality, poor security of tenure and high level of affordability. This has distorted our entire housing system, creating massive unmet emergency housing needs, and trapping millions of people in PRS. Reversing the flow of these deals – from the PRS to the social sector – therefore offers a clear path to addressing many of the deep-rooted problems in England’s housing system.
Therefore, as well as building new social housing, policy should also look at upgrading existing private rental housing to ensure they are energy efficient, and acquiring and repurposing them as social rental housing.. Doing this on a fair, sustainable and sufficiently large scale is far from straightforward, but the rewards – improving the affordability and quality of PRS accommodation and providing the social homes we so desperately need – are significant. As we outline in this report (and will provide more detail in future publications in the coming months), the upcycling and repurposing of private rental housing into a new generation of social housing provides an The question offers a clear path to the heart of our broken housing system.
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