Repair spending on public housing falls to all-time low

Repair and maintenance spending on public housing hit an all-time in 2018, according to new figures released by Scape Group.

The public sector framework group said the amount spent, £7.1bn, represented a decrease of £2.2bn – or 23% – since 1997, equivalent to a fall of £252 per property.

The number of public sector homes has fallen by 10% – 542,000 – in the past 20 years to 5 million units, Scape said.

Meanwhile a quarter of the country’s private rented housing stock has been classified as “non-decent”, the figures show.

Following its research, the group has called for greater scrutiny of private sector housing stock, allowing local councils to keep all the receipts from Right to Buy sales and transforming the policy goals and guidelines of organisations like housing associations into “coherent and implementable strategies”.

Scape’s analysis of all repair and maintenance activity in England last year found that 60% took place in just four regions of the country, all in southern areas.

And more than a third (36%) of repair and maintenance spending in England in the last two decades took place in London and the South-east.

Scope’s report also said that construction output across the UK in 1997 clocked up £29.4bn, or £1,200 per property, but this had fallen in real terms to £28.9bn, or £1,028 per property.

Mark Robinson, Scape’s chief executive, said that as maintenance spending was falling the total number of homes had risen by nearly 4 million.

He also said the private rented sector needed better scrutiny.

“The number of households living in the private rented sector is rising, as people continue to be priced out of the housing market. In the 10 years from 2007 to 2017, an additional 1.7 million people now live in private rented accommodation. Latest data also shows us that 25% of homes in the private rented sector are classified as non-decent.

“We need to see better oversight and scrutiny of landlords in the private rented sector so that consumers secure greater protection and importantly, have the ability to hold landlords accountable,” Robinson added.