Two in five RPs have interest cover below 100%, Housemark finds

Two in five housing associations reported interest cover below 100% in the most recent financial year, according to research from Housemark.

The data specialist’s latest Value for Money Metrics report for 2025/26 includes data from 153 landlords, collectively owning or managing around 2.5 million homes – roughly 85% of the sector.

The analysis put the median interest cover at 109.3% in 2025/26, compared with 112% in 2024/25, with the rate of decline slowing from the previous year.

Interest cover effectively measures the extent to which a provider’s operating cash can cover its interest payments. A figure of less than 100% means a provider is not generating enough cash from its core operating activities to cover its interest payments and is therefore seen as unsustainable in the long-term

Cost pressures also appeared to ease with the cost per unit increasing by 4.9%, a smaller increase than the 11% recorded the year prior - although Housemark noted that this could be the result of deferred improvement works.

Overall, repairs and maintenance spending is projected to total £59bn over the next five years.

Meanwhile, new housing supply has remained subdued. Median new supply stood at 1.2%, down a touch from 1.3%.

Roughly 14% of landlords delivered no new social homes, with delivery concentrated among larger providers - those owning more than 15,000 accounting for more than four-fifths of new social housing.

“Slower cost growth is an encouraging sign, but it is not a complete measure of the sector’s financial position,” said John Wickenden, research manager at Housemark, said.

“After several years of significant financial change, housing providers continue to balance substantial investment in existing homes with the need to deliver new supply.”