Party says government’s Social Housing Bill is ‘only half a plan’
The Liberal Democrats have introduced a private members’ bill to establish a legal target of building 150,000 new ’social homes’ annually.
Gideon Amos, the party’s housing spokesperson, dubbed the proposal the “missing half” of the government’s Social Housing Bill 2026-27, for which the second reading took place last Thursday (10 September).
The Liberal Democrats’ proposed bill would give local councils control over right to buy rules and receipts, while creating a rent-to-equity route for tenants to build home equity through regular rent payments. It is not clear what the exact tenure breakdown of the ’social homes’ would be.
The party also called to embed “heat ready” standards into all new developments following a UK summer marked by heatwaves. This would mean mandating air conditioning in all new builds powered by solar panels under the party’s “Sunshine Bill”, alongside passive cooling measures such as expanded tree planting to prevent residential overheating.
Speaking ahead of the second reading of the Social Housing Bill, Amos said: “The government’s Housing Bill, on its own, is only half a plan. Our proposal provides the missing half: building 150,000 social homes a year, giving councils control over right to buy, and helping tenants build equity through their rent.
“Crucially, these homes must also be fit for the future, rather than built simply to hit quotas. By pairing mandatory solar panels with air conditioning, we can keep homes cool and energy bills low as a changed climate becomes the norm.”
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