Consortium says homes sold to RPs of ‘poorer quality’ than those sold to private buyers as section 106 purchases tumble
Consortium JV North has called for feedback from registered providers to be included in a survey which generates star ratings for housebuilders, amid quality concerns.
The group said there has been a 69% reduction in the number of section 106 homes its 15 housing association members have forward-purchased from housebuilders in the past three years. It said 213 were bought in 2025/26 down from 688 in 2023/24.
JV North said that the main reason for the drop is that homes received by registered providers are of “poorer quality than [those bought by] individual private buyers.”
It believes that one reason for this is that housing association feedback is not taken into account through the National New Homes Survey, which the Home Builders Federation uses to generate its 1 to 5 star ratings for housebuilders.
JV North said that developers therefore focus on giving private buyers a better level of service to ensure they get the star rating, while quality is less likely to be maintained for homes sold to housing associations.
John Bowker, chair of JV North and chief executive of Southway Housing Trust, said: ““Being excluded from customer satisfaction surveys for Section 106 properties means the sector is not getting the quality we want at handover.
“This is confirmed in the stark drop in acquisitions over the past three years by our members which follows the national trend.
“We are treated differently to private buyers even though registered providers are also customers and always the biggest on any given scheme; individuals will buy one home whereas a housing association will have scores and sometimes hundreds on big plots.”
A spokesperson for the Home Builders Federation (HBF) said the customer satisfaction survey has been successful in driving “significant improvements to the housebuying experience.”
He said: “It was designed for private sales and the questions reflect the customer journey of a new home buyer so are not necessarily relevant for the affordable housing sales process. We would welcome discussions to exploring how the survey could be tailored for affordable housing occupants.”
The HBF spokesperson said if the “retrenchment from the section 106 market continues, ministers need to assess the sustainability of the current model.”
He said: “New homes are built to exacting standards and benefit from exceptional energy performance, saving RPs and residents money in the long-run. There will always be a balance to be struck between earlier engagement around specification and shifting regulatory requirements. The ongoing uncertainty around the requirements of the Future Homes Standard is particularly unhelpful for private developers and social landlords.”
The government has announced various measures to tackle the lowered demand for section 106 homes. Last week it published details of “emergency measures” to get the market moving again - including allowing the tenure of uncontracted section 106 homes to be varied where no affordable housing provider is willing to buy.
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