Social housing figures reveal extent of private provider involvement – London Wallet

Private registered providers purchased, acquired or built the majority of new homes in the social sector, the latest figures from the Regulator of Social Housing have revealed.

According to the data, as of 31 March 2023, private registered providers accounted for 87% of the total increase in Affordable Rent properties and 98% for Low Cost Home Ownership properties.

The statistics show that 83% of social homes in England are general needs (social rent and Affordable Rent), while supported housing makes up 11% and Low Cost Home Ownership 6%.

Private registered providers also reported that 68% of homes had an energy efficiency certificate rating of EPC-C or above, and 23% had a rating of EPC-D.

Returns from all private and local authority registered providers show that the sector provides around 4.5 million homes across England, with a net increase of nearly 34,000 social homes since 2022.

Over the year, providers increased the number of homes for Affordable Rent, adding around 26,000 to the sector’s stock. Providers also saw an increase of over 14,000 additional Low Cost Home Ownership properties. However, the number of homes for social rent fell by over 6,000.

Local authorities saw a fall of around 9,000 homes for social rent, while private registered providers built, purchased or acquired around 3,000 which partially offset the decline. This led to the first increase in general needs social rent homes by private registered providers since 2017, with a large proportion added by for-profit providers.

The average increase in general needs (social rent) average weekly net rents was 4.1% between 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023 (in line with the limit set for 2022/23). The average weekly general needs rent in England was £98.20, with variations across different regions of the country. Rents were lowest in the North East (£82.08) and highest in London (£121.09).

The data shows that levels of sales, lettings and evictions seem to be stabilising after a few years of fluctuation during and following the coronavirus pandemic.