Rayner defends 1.5m homes target as social housing waiting lists hit 1.3m

Social housing waiting lists in England have reached 1.3 million households, the highest number since 2014, as ministers face questions over whether their housebuilding plans are enough. Behind the figure are families stuck in temporary accommodation, sometimes for years, and long waits for homes with three or more bedrooms.

Waiting lists and temporary accommodation

There were a record 135,000 households in temporary accommodation in March, including 177,000 children. One in every 14 new social tenancies has been waiting for five years or more. A recent parliamentary report found that 104 children died in the past six years where being in temporary accommodation had contributed to their vulnerability, ill health or death. Of these children, 76 were under the age of one.

Shandor and his son lived in temporary accommodation for almost a year. He described an emergency shelter room about eight foot by six, with windows screwed shut, a sink, a mirror, a fridge and a fold-up bed. He said he felt 'so gutted' putting his son in that situation. Robert, not his real name, has been in temporary accommodation for more than five years and uses a wheelchair. He was placed on the third floor of a building and at one point the lift was broken for five months.

Long waits for larger homes

The shortage is sharpest for larger homes. Analysis compared the number of households queueing for homes with three or more bedrooms with the average number let each year. Across England it would take seven years to clear the existing list at the current rate. In Mansfield, the biggest shortage outside London, it would take 59 years. Three London boroughs were worse: Brent 60 years, Merton 90 years and Westminster 99 years. The councils said people in greater need were given priority and that they were building more homes.

Government response and Rayner interview

The government said its £39 billion housing programme could enable the delivery of larger homes, and it was reforming right to buy so councils could keep hold of more homes. It also estimated that around 15,000 households made themselves homeless to escape domestic violence last year. As part of the social housing bill, ministers are tabling an amendment to help remove abusers from social homes so survivors can stay. Angela Rayner said that under a joint tenancy, once a protection order is in place, the victim would have the right to maintain the home and the perpetrator would have to leave.

In an interview, the Housing Secretary defended the government's target of 1.5 million homes by the end of the parliament. She said it was always a stretch target but she was not giving up. She cited the war in the Middle East and a 40% rise in construction costs. She said £10 billion had already been released through the social and affordable homes programme, with more money still to allocate.

Asked about the manifesto, which did not include a caveat, she said 'we're doing that' and 'that's a promise'. She said people had told her not to include the target because it was difficult, and she made no apologies for pushing for it. She said housing stats had gone up by 20% in one year and that last year saw the biggest wave of council housing since records began in 1991. Rayner was also asked about making it harder for people to be eligible for right to buy. She rejected the idea that the government was taking away their dream of owning a home.