New report aims to lay firm foundations for future of council housing

The unprecedented cross-party coalition today (Tuesday, September 3) released a report that aims to focus public and political attention on the importance of council housing and, crucially, the urgent action needed to secure its future.

Co-ordinated by London’s Southwark Council, the report sets out a roadmap for the renewal of England’s council housing over the next decade as well as a series of suggested policy changes to help bring about that transformation.

It also details how huge financial pressures have squeezed housing budgets to the point where, for some councils, maintaining or improving existing homes – let alone building new ones – represents a significant challenge.

This comes at a time when the need for affordable and secure homes has never been more pressing, with a record 109,000 households in England currently living in temporary accommodation.

Today's report recommends five key measures that it says would help local authorities and central government work together to deliver the next generation of council homes. They are:

• The creation of a new and sustainable model for the funding of council housing;
• The reform of Right to Buy policies, including protecting newly-built council homes from sale;
• The removal of red tape to simplify how existing funding can be accessed and used;
• A long-term Green & Decent Homes Programme that would bring all council housing up to a new standard of safety, decency and energy efficiency by 2030;
• Action to restart and complete stalled building projects.

Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said:

“This new report is a real statement of intent on housing from councils across England and I’m pleased that Leeds has been able to play a part in that.

“Council housing provides the kind of stability and security that transforms lives and builds thriving, inclusive communities. It is vital, therefore, that everyone, at all levels of government, takes today’s report as a cue to work together to safeguard its future.

“The challenges cannot be ignored, but the bold measures being proposed today would give us the best possible chance of overcoming them.”

Leeds’s commitment to ensuring that all local residents have access to good-quality homes is underlined by the ongoing success of its Council Housing Growth Programme (CHGP).

More than 350 new homes have been built via the council’s CHGP since 2018, with the Gascoigne House extra care facility in Middleton and the redevelopment of a former tower block site at Meynell Approach in Holbeck among the major completed projects.

Around 330 homes have also been acquired as part of the programme, with these properties and the new-builds both playing a crucial role in efforts to ease local affordable housing pressures.

Latest figures for the period up to 2025 show that, across Leeds, around 1,600 affordable homes are currently under construction or in the pre-construction or feasibility stages of development thanks to the CHGP as well as other council-backed schemes delivered by partners.

Councillor Jess Lennox, Leeds City Council’s executive member for housing, said:

“We’re proud of the results that have been achieved by our Council Housing Growth Programme and the difference it is making to the lives of people in communities across Leeds.

“We are fully aware, however, that there is still much more to do. It is our hope that the ideas outlined in today’s report will help give us the resources and tools we need to go faster and further with our work to provide good-quality affordable homes that are a source of pride for all.”

The report – entitled Securing the Future of Council Housing – can be found here.

ENDS