Largest housing associations post drop in development but surpluses rise

The largest housing associations posted a 12% increase in their annual operating surplus last year, the first exclusive analysis of providers’ 2024/25 accounts reveals.

Housing Today’s Largest 50 Housing Associations list, published in full tomorrow, shows the biggest 50 housing associations in the UK increased their combined operating surplus to £4.4bn, with 34 landlords posting an increase.

Their total surplus - which can be more volatile year-on-year as it includes more one-off costs – increased by 14% to £2.1bn. Six in 10 landlords (30) reported increased overall surplus, while nearly one in three (19) reported a decrease. A total of six landlords posted deficits.

The analysis will also show the extent to which development fell across the sector last year. The largest 50 housing associations completed 39,081 homes in 2024/25, a 4% decrease on the 40,626 built the previous year.

A total of 24 landlords built fewer homes year-on-year, with eight of the largest 11 organisations posting lower completions.

The analysis found many providers scaling back development in the face of competing priorities, including the need to improve existing homes, and rising costs. Several also pointed to contractor insolvencies delaying schemes.

This year Housing Today has been tracking the annual financial statements throughout housing association “reporting season”, which ran until the end of September (providers have six months in which to publish their accounts after year end and the vast majority choose to operate on the April to March financial year).

For the first time and within less than two months since all the data was made public, Housing Today will tomorrow publish a full sortable table of the largest housing associations in the UK by turnover.

We’ve analysed providers’ turnover, surplus, operating surplus, homes completed and homes owned and/or managed for the 2024/25 financial year. We’ve also pulled out key trends seen in the accounts.