The government has pledged a colossal £39bn towards building more affordable homes over the next decade, a move that has been met with applause following Rachel Reeves‘ announcement earlier this week. However, the news isn’t all rosy for those in social housing.
Rachel Reeves, during her spending review on Wednesday (June 11), proclaimed that the new affordable homes programme would receive the ‘biggest cash injection into social and affordable housing in 50 years’, with a whopping £39bn in government grants to be doled out over the coming 10 years.
Yet, buried within the government documents released post-announcement is the less welcome news that social housing rents are on an upward trajectory. Starting from 2026, landlords of social housing will have the green light to hike rents by 1 per cent above the rate of inflation annually. Zoe Marlow, who runs Dandelion Foodbank in Wythenshawe, expressed deep concerns about the impending rent hikes.
Her comments were stark: “It’s great to hear the government has nearly doubled investment in affordable and social housing, but I am really worried about the proposed 10 years of above inflation rent increases they have announced in combination with all the welfare cuts.”, reports the Manchester Evening News.
She added a local perspective, noting: “Here in Wythenshawe, there is a lot of disability – I myself have a long term condition – so a lot of people can’t work. If they are putting up rents, they also need to make sure people have enough to live on.
“I see mums every week at the food bank who can’t afford to feed their children because of the cost of living crisis so how are they supposed to find even more rent with no additional income for food?”.
The Manchester Evening News previously reported on Zoe’s involvement with the Manchester Social Housing Commission, which unites tenants, grassroots organisations, campaigners, political figures, council staff, academics, and planning experts in the city.
Following the Spending Review, the Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, who presides over the Commission, remarked: “We are delighted to see that Government is listening to the many and diverse communities, charities, local authorities, and providers across the country who have been raising their voices for so long on the need for urgent action on the housing crisis. £39bn is certainly going to help.
“But the government needs to go further and commit the majority of that funding to building new homes for social rent with clear and enforceable targets.
“Otherwise, we fear that this investment will mainly go towards so-called Affordable Rent, which is usually 80 per cent of market rent and will not help clear the 19,000 households on Manchester’s housing waiting list or the 3000 households living in temporary accommodation.”
Manchester council leader Bev Craig has also expressed approval of the Spending Review announcements, highlighting the positive impact they will have on the city.
She exclaimed: “Manchester is leading the way in building homes, creating jobs, growing the economy inclusively and supporting our residents. The announcements in today’s Spending Review will do much to help maintain that positive momentum.
“We particularly welcome the announcement of £39bn extra funding nationally for council, social and other genuinely affordable homes. We’re already delivering more affordable homes than at any time in the last 15 years and the availability of very significant extra funding will allow us to go even further in delivering this generational increase.”
Further elaborating on her enthusiasm, she said: “I welcome the largest investment in social and affordable housing in 50 years, alongside the record investment to rebuild the NHS. This alongside the expansion of Free School Meals, and investment in public transport address issues that really matter to Manchester people.”
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached for a statement.