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Housing Promise: Delivered or Delayed?
One year on, how much progress has the Government made on building the UK’s much-needed new homes? Ginetta Vedrickas looks at the situation
One year after the General Election, the progress report from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) warns that, despite a positive start, the delivery of new homes is still falling and is well short of the levels needed to meet the Government’s ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes KEY AREAS THAT ARE YET TO BE TACKLED The industry has welcomed some of the Government’s planning reforms, but the report finds that broader policy and delivery challenges, particularly on the demand side, are still unresolved and are now seriously constraining the sector’s ability to increase the supply of new homes. HBF’s report, One Year On: Progress Report on Housing Delivery Since the General Election , scores the Government in six key policy areas: national planning policy, the planning process, affordable housing, solutions for nutrient and water neutrality, expanding the workforce, plus other emerging issues impacting the industry. Only one policy area, planning policy, was identified as having achieved significant progress.
developments built must not increase overall demand for water in a region. This is achieved by ensuring that any increase in water demand from new construction is offset by reductions in water usage within the existing community. Essentially, it aims to balance the water consumption of new developments with equivalent water savings elsewhere, so the net impact on water resources is zero. The report warns that other schemes are also being held up by wastewater connection issues and electricity grid capacity constraints.
five-year rent settlement for social housing providers, these pledges will do little in the short term to increase affordable housing. The report warns that over 100,000 private homes and at least 17,000 affordable homes are stalled due to a lack of registered provider (RP) bids for Section 106, also known as affordable housing. These are properties built by developers under a legal agreement with a local planning authority (LPA), to ensure that a portion of new developments are made available at a reduced price or with other restrictions to help meet local housing needs. Registered providers are organisations registered with the Regulator of Social Housing to own and manage social housing properties. These organisations could be local authorities, social landlords or housing associations. RPs are responsible for providing affordable housing options such as low-cost rental, affordable rent, and low- cost home ownership, for example Shared Ownership homes. WATER NEUTRALITY ISSUES HINDER BUILDING PROGRESS The report also found that around 20,000 potential new homes are currently delayed by water neutrality requirements. Water neutrality rules dictate that any new
PROGRESS IN PLANNING POLICY
Policy planning is pinpointed as having seen the most progress so far according to the report, which describes the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), the introduction of the grey belt designation, and proposals for strategic planning reform as “all welcome steps”. But it also warns that the planning process has had limited progress. Local planning remains costly, slow and unpredictable, especially for small and medium (SME) housebuilders. Underfunded local authority departments are a major cause of delays, and, while higher fees may help, improved service must follow. The report calls on Government
LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOMES
The report warns that supporting the industry to deliver affordable homes must be a major priority for the Government, but it has found little progress. The HBF says that, despite Government pledges in its Spending Review of funding to support building new affordable homes, plus a
104 First Time Buyer October/November 2025
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