Around 6.5 million people will be on social housing waiting lists in England by 2020 unless urgent action is taken, according to new figures.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) says that if current trends continue the total number of people waiting for an affordable home will be 2 million more than when the Government announced, in July 2007, that it would build 3 million homes by 2020 in order slash waiting lists.

Ministers announced their ambitious house-building plans two years ago, in an effort to tackle the nation’s housing crisis by increasing the number of new homes being built – with a plan to escalate the number of new homes delivered each year to 240,000 by 2016.

However, because of the meltdown in private sector house-building, following the economic downturn, the number of new homes being built has slumped to around 70,000 per year,while the number of people on waiting lists is continuing to soar.

-- Advertisement --

With the effect of the recession and repossessions making the need for social housing even greater, the NHF, which represents England’s housing associations, believes that ministers should try to ensure a minimum of 50,000 new social homes are delivered over the next year.

As well as delivering new homes, the NHF's proposed house-building drive would pump desperately needed funds into many deprived areas, help boost the construction industry, avoid serious skills shortages and stimulate long term market stability.

NHF Chief Executive David Orr said: "It is deeply disturbing that, if current trends continue, one in ten of the population would be on waiting lists by 2020.

"The Government was right two years ago to set a target of building 3m homes by 2020, but the programme has been severely dented by the impact of the recession – which has sent the private house-building sector from boom to bust.

"To get house-building back on track we need an urgent affordable house building programme, through which housing associations can quickly deliver thousands of decent homes for social rent.

"If ministers invest £3.2bn, housing associations will complement this with their own investment, and deliver 50,000 new social homes by next June."

(CD/NS)