Homes England affordable housing starts fall 12% from last year

Affordable housing starts delivered through programmes managed by Homes England saw a 12% drop in the period from April 1 to September 2025 compared with the same period last year.

While 15,581 total starts on site were recorded, 11,474 of these were for affordable dwellings, representing 74% of all starts.

Julia Thomson, social housing partner at law firm Womble Bond Dickinson, warned the slump means that “housing delivery is falling well short of the government’s stated ambition” to deliver 1.5 million homes this parliament.

She said: “The pressure of increased build costs, the increased burden of repair costs on registered providers, the lack of certainty on grant commitment prior to the Spring Spending Review, and inflation have all impacted the sector’s ability to develop at scale.

“It is hoped that the certainty given by the 10-year rent settlement and Affordable Homes programme mitigates this and allows the sector to continue to provide development of much needed affordable housing.”

Of the affordable homes started, 1,238 were for social rent, a decrease of 38% from 2024.

Almost all (94%) of starts were delivered by the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021 to 2026, while 3% were brough through the Home Building Fund (HBF) and 1% via each of the Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) and the Single Land Programme (SLP).

Meanwhile, 10,309 affordable homes reached completion. This is a 3% decrease from the previous year despite representing 76% of all completions.

However, the amount of finished social homes increased by 15% from last year, with 2,339 completed.

Of the completed affordable homes, 70% were delivered by the AHP 2021 to 2026, 25% by the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2016 to 2021, 3% by the SLP and 1% via the HBF and HBF – Short Term Fund.