Posted 19.09.17
National Housing Federation (NHF): Article link
National Housing Federation Chief Executive, David Orr, has warned that social housing funding is in crisis - unless the Government is prepared to start funding new genuinely affordable homes.
The warnings come as the Federation publishes a report outlining dramatic shifts in public spending in housing.
The report shows that the nation's commitment to building homes has fallen from £11.4 billion in 2009 to £5.3 billion in 2015. Despite this, more than a million families remain on the housing waiting list.
While the amount of money going into building new social homes has fallen precipitously, the nation is spending more than ever supporting people to live in costly rental properties through housing benefit.
The report found that the amount of Housing Benefit going to private landlords has almost doubled over the last decade to £9.1 billion in 2015/16.
The report says 'making more capital available to social homebuilders and then giving them the flexibility to charge rents appropriate to residents' incomes is the way forward.
The report can be accessed via the above link.
