This Labour government should complete the task of the last Labour administration. They should ensure that all social renters live in a safe, secure, warm and accessible home.

Ben Cooper is Research Manager at the Fabian Society.

At the turn of this century, social housing was in dire need of investment. In 2001, 38 per cent of social homes in England failed to meet basic housing standards, with an estimated £19bn repair backlog. Today, things are very different. Just ten per cent of social homes are considered ‘non-decent’ and are not meeting the current Decent Homes Standard.

This improvement in social housing stock was largely due to New Labour’s Decent Homes Programme. In nine years, £22bn of public grant funding was invested to raise the quality of existing stock – alongside £15bn of private investment from social landlords. One million social homes were modernised and improved, with over 800,000 new kitchens and 600,000 new bathrooms. It changed lives – and gave the people living in these homes a solid foundation to get on in life.

Since 2010, progress has slowed. Between April 2020 and March 2023, the proportion of non-decent homes fell by two percent – equivalent to just 18,000 improved homes. The pandemic clearly had an impact, but so did 14 years of Conservative government. Real-terms cuts to capital investment and social rents, complex rules around access to funding, and policy uncertainty all combined to make improving existing homes more difficult.

Now, 400,000 households live in poor quality social homes. They should be a priority. The tragic death of Awaab Ishaak in Rochdale, caused by prolonged exposure to mould, highlights the vital need to tackle poor quality housing in the social rented sector.  The coroner found that this was a preventable death, with “action to treat and prevent the mould … not taken”. No one – and especially no child – should live in a home that negatively affects their physical and mental wellbeing.

This Labour government should complete the task of the last Labour administration. They should ensure that all social renters live in a safe, secure, warm and accessible home.

Improving existing social homes will complement the government’s ambition to build 1.5m new homes. In fact, a report last month by the Home Builders Federation found that social housing providers’ current improvement and maintenance bills are holding back the building of new social homes. So government support for improving existing stock can ensure that social housing is at the heart of Labour’s ‘golden era of building’. Home Comforts, a forthcoming Fabian Society report, will set out how to do this.

For example, the government should consider establishing a ten-year rent settlement for social housing providers, a measure they are currently consulting on. But the government should ensure that increases in rents are accompanied by clear expectations that this rent settlement will improve existing stock, not just build new homes. Otherwise, current tenants may perceive that the cost of their home is going up to benefit future tenants, rather than to improve their lives and the home they live in.

The government should also introduce a new, long-term fund for improvements and maintenance in the forthcoming spending review. This could provide funding over ten years, in predictable waves. This would be classified as capital expenditure, rather than revenue. As a result, this spending would not conflict with the government’s commitment to reach a surplus on day to say spending. To meet the current Decent Homes Standard, the fund wouldn’t need to be particularly large – with one estimate suggesting around £2.3bn is needed.

These actions are essential. Without them we are both trapping those 400,000 households in a poor quality home, and holding back new housebuilding. Ultimately, this investment will transform lives, ensuring that everyone can access a safe, secure, warm and accessible home. And this Labour government can, just like the last, create a firm foundation for millions of people to thrive.

Comments are closed.