This genius idea could help solve the housing crisis and prevent homelessness all at once

Leading architects have come up with a new model for building social housing on publicly owned land that could deliver thousands of new homes for the same cost as the money spent preventing homelessness every year.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) said a one-off investment of £1.24bn could be used to fund more than 20,000 new homes, including 13,000 social homes over the next 10 years. 

That’s the same amount spend on reducing homelessness in England through temporary accommodation in 2023-24, with RIBA arguing the model could become virtually self-sustaining and save the government continued investment.

The model, outlined in the Foundations for the Future: a new delivery model for social housing report published today (24 September), involves building on publicly owned land and reinvesting the profits.

Housebuilders build private homes at market prices on the land to create an income stream under the model before reinvesting all the profits into building social homes.

Jack Pringle, RIBA chair of the board of trustees, said: “For most people experiencing housing insecurity, social housing is the only route to an affordable, secure home. The need for social housing is greater than ever, and public sector provision is the only way to build it at the scale required. 

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“This model shows how resources can be allocated to help to create a new generation of social homes while minimising other costs, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. By demonstrating a different approach to housing delivery, we hope to encourage new ways of thinking, either by building on our model or through complementary initiatives.

“Of course, new homes must be accompanied by the necessary amenities and infrastructure such as schools and public transport to create well-designed places that stand the test of time.  

A failure to build enough social housing is one of the key drivers of the housing crisis, which has seen private rents soar, 1.3 million households on social housing waiting lists and record numbers of families homeless in temporary accommodation.

The Labour government has pledged to build 1.5 million homes while in power, including prioritising social rent homes.

Ministers have yet to commit to a public target for social homes though housing secretary Angela Rayner has reintroduced mandatory housebuilding targets for local authorities and called for a “council house revolution” to deal with the crisis.

But it faces an uphill struggle with housebuilding set to slump in the coming months. Analysis from The Housing Forum released last week found around 160,000 homes are expected to be built in the next year.

This is around half the current target of 300,000 homes a year and could see up to 450,000 homes needed to be built in 2029 to build 1.5 million homes.

The average number of homes built over the last decade is 28% below the target of 300,000 new homes per year.

RIBA argued the existing model for funding new social housing is not working with the number of social homes delivered each year far below the 90,000 social rent homes Shelter has said are needed every year for the next decade.

Right to Buy continues to diminish social housing stock too. The scheme has seen 118,000 homes sold off between 2012-13 and 2022-23 but funded only 41,000 new homes, the architects said.

The proposed model could see 200 homes built in the south-west of England initially, for example, with 50% sold at market price.

Reinvesting all revenue to build more homes before selling off 50% at market rate once again and repeating could see 2,045 homes built over 10 years with half being social housing.

Spending the £1.24bn could deliver 23,105 new homes across the country over 30 years, delivering £2.23 of social value for every £1 invested.

Pringle added: “To meet the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes by 2029, we need to think differently – and act now. As architects, we stand ready to tackle this challenge head on; to design and build the next generation of quality homes surrounded by vibrant communities that stand the test of time.”  

The model relies on the availability of council-owned land, which RIBA said would slash the cost of building homes leaving developers just to cover construction costs.

The architects said the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s brownfield land register shows there is sufficient land available across all regions for the model to be viable. 

Labour has promised to target brownfield land to build new homes as well as disused parts of the green belt, known as the grey belt. The government is also introducing planning reforms and intervening in stalled projects to boost housing delivery.

John Perry, policy adviser at Chartered Institute of Housing, said: “Ideas for making better use of the money spent on temporary accommodation are very welcome. The RIBA is proposing a model already successfully used in some local authorities which have set up companies to build a mix of housing on council-owned land. The incentive fund proposed by the RIBA could produce welcome results in terms of extra social housing.

“However, the scheme depends heavily on sufficient council-owned land being available for development, free of charge. This would have to be tested to show that the proposal is workable in practice. It is also important that any new funding does not reduce government investment through the Affordable Homes Programme.”

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