A radical shake-up of the affordable housing sector could unlock up to £125 billion from the existing stock, which could in turn go to fund the development of sorely needed new homes, according to EC Harris, the international Built Asset Consultancy.

The analysis, which is based on EC Harris' research into the ownership and management of the 4.2million affordable homes in England, was developed in response to the Housing Minister's call for more radical thinking and innovative approaches to bridging the public funding gap; soon to be created by the inevitable outcome of the forthcoming comprehensive spending review.

EC Harris believes that unlocking just 10% of the potential £125 billion it identified could directly fund the construction of over 120,000 new homes.

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Rebecca Bennett Casserly, Head of Residential-Affordable at EC Harris, said: "With a record number of people on waiting lists for affordable housing and demand set to increase significantly, the Government is looking at new ways to meet this need. Our research hopes to bring a different slant to this sector wide debate and deliberately seeks to leverage the opportunity created in the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008; opening the door of the sector to ‘for profit’ registered providers.

"In determining what could be possible we believe that the adoption of a more commercial approach to the ownership and management of affordable housing, within an appropriate regulatory framework, would enable significant funds to be unlocked; funds which could be used to deliver more new homes to meet the housing needs of a wider range of income groups. We are aware that many of our clients in this sector are already seeking to address this challenge individually, but we believe an industry wide approach could have greater speed and impact."

EC Harris carried out the analysis of the affordable housing sector during August and September 2010. Data was analysed from sources including the HCA, the TSA, National Housing and Planning Advice Unit, Department for Communities and Government and the Housing Finance Group.

(CD/KMcA)