Move aims to increase city’s supply of social housing following council housing stock transfer 20 years ago

Preston City Council is now officially registered as a local authority provider of social housing.

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Preston, Lancashire

The Lancashire council will now be able to own and increase its social housing supply after transferring its stock to housing co-operative Community Gateway Association in 2005.

Matthew Brown, leader of Preston City Council, said: “The long-held ambition of the council to hold its own social housing stock again after a long hiatus is one step closer to tackling the shortage of quality, social rented, affordable homes available to Preston residents.”

He added that the status of registered provider (RP) will also allow it to “redress” the council’s reliance on temporary accommodation.

The council said direct ownership of social housing stock will allow it to accelerate social housebuilding.

While more than 1,700 affordable homes have been delivered in Preston in the past five years through RP delivery and acquisitions from private developers, Brown said the council wants to focus on increasing the supply of social rented homes “for those local families that need help the most.”

The council has approved £5m to support this ambition over the next two years. Brown told the Lancashire Post that the authority is targeting between 40 and 50 dwellings during this time.

In January, the council submitted an offer to a housebuilder to purchase 19 homes, now 18 after a “correction” by the developer. Councillors will be asked to approve the deal at a meeting later this month, subject to the necessary legal agreements.

If approved, the council will appoint an RP to deliver housing management, repairs, statutory compliance and regulatory support services.

Construction of the homes is underway, with completion due between November 2026 and April 2028.

The Regulator of Social Housing confirmed the council’s application to become an RP had been successful as of 29 May 2026, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has been notified.

 

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