The next prime minister could fix the housing crisis. Here’s how

Social rented housing is the only genuinely affordable housing in the UK, as rents are tied to local incomes. So why, then, do we lose more social homes through sales and demolitions than are built every year?

That’s the question sparked by our new analysis of government data, which has revealed that social rents are 64% more affordable than private rents, with social tenants paying on average £828 less per month than those renting from a private landlord.

The answer, of course, is the absence of political will. Governments have not prioritised building social homes for decades, and have allowed private renting to become bloated and dysfunctional. Together, these factors have left us with a housing emergency.

A staggering 1.3 million households in England are stuck on social housing waiting lists. This is a political choice. Homelessness has almost doubled in the last decade – with the latest figures showing 145,800 children have been condemned to spend their early years in grotty, cramped temporary accommodation, such as hostels and B&Bs. Street homelessness has also soared in recent years, despite the outgoing government’s pledge to end rough sleeping by 2024. These are all political choices.

The chronic shortage of social homes has led the private rental sector to double in size in the past 20 years. Regulation has failed to keep pace, trapping 11 million people in a broken system where poor conditions and unfair evictions are rife. 

This government has had five long years and every opportunity to honour its manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions. It has repeatedly kicked the promise into the long grass after lobbying from landlords, meaning renters remain in constant fear of such a notice landing on their doormat, throwing their life into chaos and giving them just two months to find a new home. 

Every day, Shelter’s frontline services are inundated with calls from people struggling to keep a safe roof over their heads or those being priced out of their local communities, leaving their jobs, children’s schools and support networks behind. No part of the country is immune to this problem, from inner cities to seaside towns and rural countryside. 

Politicians of all stripes have buried their heads in the sand over the housing crisis, and no political party has yet confronted it with the urgency it requires. But with a general election now in sight, it's not too late. No party can consider itself ready to lead the country unless it is willing to tackle housing head-on. The emergency we find ourselves in is not inevitable. It will not solve itself, but the solutions are simple. 

Firstly, we need to build 90,000 social homes a year for ten years, with all rents tied to local incomes. Our research shows that this would not only eradicate homelessness, it would pay for itself – returning an impressive £37.8bn back to the economy in just three years. It would also save the taxpayer money, boost jobs, reduce the burden of poor housing on our NHS and improve children’s life chances.  

And with private rents continuing to rise while wages stagnate, we must have a plan to prevent people from being trapped in a cycle of financial hardship. Alongside abolishing Section 21 no-fault evictions, we need to make private renting affordable. This means regulating in-tenancy rent increases – something that is commonplace across European countries and would protect tenants from being forced out of their homes by an unexpected rent hike. 

As voters gear up to head to the ballot box, lip service and empty promises are no longer going to cut it. The nation is demanding – and expecting – politicians to deliver real change. Anything less is a commitment to further suffering.