Council House Building Set to Double Under Angela Rayner’s ‘Housing Revolution’
- Deputy PM Angela Rayner aims to double the number of council houses built
- Nearly £1 billion expected to be unveiled in the October Budget to fund housing projects
- Crackdown on Right to Buy scheme to preserve social housing stock
Story: Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister, is preparing to deliver a significant increase in council house building as part of Labour’s wider housing revolution. In next week’s Budget, Rayner is expected to unveil nearly £1 billion to kickstart the construction of tens of thousands of new homes, aiming to double the current output of council housing.
This funding is seen as the beginning, with more substantial sums planned for the spring 2025 multi-year spending review. Rayner’s housing strategy is a core component of Labour’s ambitious target to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.
Rayner’s team argues that increasing the stock of council housing will help reduce the £9 billion benefit bill and ease the burden on local councils struggling with the cost of temporary housing. The Deputy PM is also expected to announce changes to the Right to Buy scheme, reducing discounts and extending the required tenancy period from three to ten years before tenants can purchase their homes. For newly-built council houses, the option to buy may be scrapped altogether to protect the dwindling social housing stock.
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, commented: "This housing strategy could not only support those in need of affordable homes but also relieve the financial pressure on councils.
Building new council homes is great but we are likely only talking about 10,000 homes per year max. I mean one billion shared by lets say £150,000 is less than 7,000 homes and I could see the new homes each costing more than £150k. I believe labour are also going to allow builders to build on more land but these will be privately purchased or rented homes and there will be a lot more of these compared to council houses, maybe 10:1 or more being built. These will take more pressure of the existing housing crisis than these council houses because there simply won't be enough council houses. Just for reference in Bristol alone there is currently 27,000 council homes all occupied and a waiting list for those homes of 23,000 families. So it would take the Labour government 3 years with their current plans just to fulfill the waiting list of one city. We still have a very high level of immigration too adding to housing demand.