Social Housing UK: Families Locked Out of Affordable Homes for Generations

Summary:

• Social housing waiting lists for family-sized properties are over 100 years in some parts of England.

• Overcrowded, unaffordable housing or temporary accommodation are the only options for many on long-term waiting lists.

• Rising homelessness and increasing housing costs are driving up demand for social housing.

• More social homes are being lost than built each year.

• Poor maintenance means homes fall into disrepair and become uninhabitable. 

• EVO helps providers bring stock back into circulation and protect existing stock from falling into disrepair.

Social housing is meant to provide safety, security and stability for those who need it most. 

But right now, waiting lists are so overstretched that hundreds of thousands of families are being left in limbo, with some facing waits longer than a lifetime.

That’s not just a housing problem, it’s a national emergency.

This article examines new research revealing the extent of the UK’s social housing crisis. We’ll also explore why it’s happened, why it’s a problem and what can be done about it. 

100 Year Waiting Lists for Family-Sized Social Housing Properties

New analysis from The National Housing Federation(NHF), Crisis and Shelter has highlighted the shocking state of England’s housing crisis, with some areas experiencing waiting lists of over 100 years for family-sized social homes.

They found that:

• 32 local authorities had waiting lists of more than 18 years - longer than childhood. 

• 9 councils had waiting lists longer than 50 years.

• 3 authorities had waiting lists of more than 100 years, exceeding the average human life expectancy.

The three councils with the longest waiting lists are Westminster (106.7 years), Enfield (105.3 years) and Merton (102.4 years). 

The table below shows some of the other councils facing critically long waiting lists:

The Guardian published the story of Angie, whose family of six was being forced to live in an overcrowded private rented home. Her three daughters, aged 15, 12, and 7, were forced to share a room, while she and her husband sometimes had to sleep downstairs to give them enough room. 

She says that the house feels claustrophobic and it’s getting worse as the children grow up.

Angie has been on the waiting list for 16 years, but the average wait time for a family-sized home in the borough of Tower Hamlets, east London is more than 40 years. At this rate, she will be 68 by the time an appropriately sized social home becomes available. 

What’s Causing These Excessive Waiting Lists?

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A mixture of high demand and a lack of new social housing has fuelled the excessive waiting lists described above. 

Here’s a deeper look at the challenges facing the social housing sector. 

Rising demand

In total, there were at least 354,000 homeless people in England at the end of 2024.

The number of children who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation has doubled since 2012 and has reached 164,040 - a new record. 

As a result, there is an ever increasing demand for social housing. According to the Guardian article, the number of households on social housing waiting lists in England has increased by 37% since 2015 and today stands at more than 1.3 million households. 

High cost of housing

The cost of buying and renting homes is outstripping wages. According to Zoopla, the average cost of renting at the end of 2024 was £1,270 per month. 

According to the Office for National Statistics, rents were increasing by 8.7% per year at this time. However wages only increased by 5.8% over a similar period.

When it comes to buying, the picture has improved slightly but is still grim. The 2024 affordability ratio for England was 7.7 - in other words, the median house price is 7.7 times the median earnings. In 1997, this figure was at 3.54.

Fewer social homes are being built

​The UK's social housing sector has seen a significant decline in new constructions over recent years. This is partly because government funding for new social homes was cut by 60% in 2010. 

In 2022-2023, only 9,535 new social homes were built in England, while 29,000 were sold or demolished, resulting in a net loss of 19,465 social homes - and that’s just one year. Since 1979, the number of social homes in England has fallen by 1.4 million.

The Local Government Association estimates that 100,000 new social homes need to be built annually to meet demand.

Social homes have been sold off

Decreasing social housing stock isn’t just caused by a lack of building. The Right to Buy scheme was introduced in the 1980s and gives social housing residents the right to buy their social home at a discount. 

While this pulled many people out of poverty, it has also led to over 2 million council homes being sold in England.

Systemic issues

Angie, who we mentioned earlier in the article, explained that her family would like to be considered for a three-bedroom social house, as more are available. 

However, she only qualifies for a four-bedroom home, which rarely become available. Even when they do, there is a huge demand for them.

Inflexible systems like this often mean people can get stuck on housing lists for decades. 

Why Social Housing Matters

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Having a decent home is crucial to someone’s physical and mental well-being. This also impacts the opportunities they may receive in life.

It is shocking and unacceptable that so many people in England are being forced to live in temporary accommodation because social housing is unavailable and rented homes are too expensive. 

However, there’s a more significant issue here. The report focuses on family-sized homes. In other words, all of the households on these 100-year waiting lists have children. 

That’s 164,040 children who have been forced to live in conditions that are often squalid and overcrowded. They have no permanent place to call home, and the experience will likely impact their lives.

According to a 2017 study, 42% of parents living in temporary accommodation said their child was “often unhappy or depressed, while 30% said their child found it difficult to make or keep friends. They are also more likely to feel stressed or anxious. 

However, it also has a practical impact on their lives. Retaining personal possessions, accessing bathroom facilities, and even finding a quiet place to study are daily issues for homeless children. 

At EVO, we believe that everyone in the housing sector - from government to social housing providers - has a role to play in ensuring everyone has a quality home that meets their needs.

In the next section, we’ll explain what can be done about it.

How Can We Improve England’s Social Housing Availability?

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1. See through commitments to build more social homes

While the need is well understood, the political will to deliver social housing at scale has been missing for decades. That may be changing. 

The new Labour government has promised a renewed focus on affordable housing, including a commitment to build 1.5 million homes over five years. 

They’ve also pledged to reform the planning system and make more publicly owned land available for development.

Some industry leaders have proposed that the government take a new approach to housing and treat it as national infrastructure.

To meet these ambitions, housing experts argue that long-term funding must be prioritised, giving councils and housing associations the stability they need to build again at scale.

2. Reform the Right to Buy scheme

One key barrier to improving social housing availability is the way Right to Buy continues to operate. Councils are still required to sell homes at a discount, even in areas with severe housing shortages - but strict rules make it difficult to replace what’s lost. 

Local authorities can typically only keep 40% of each sale, must spend that money within three years, and until recently, couldn’t combine it with other grant funding. These restrictions often make building new homes financially unviable.

Some have called for reform: allowing councils to keep all sale proceeds, removing time limits on reinvestment, and giving local authorities the power to suspend sales where need is greatest.

3. Boost long-term funding and financial certainty

For decades, inconsistent and short-term funding has held back social housing delivery. 

Cuts to capital grants since 2010 have left councils and housing associations relying more heavily on borrowing and cross-subsidy from private developments; however, areas with the greatest need are often unattractive to private developers, so this model may not be effective.

Experts across the sector agree that providers need stable, long-term funding to build at scale. That means restoring capital investment levels, giving councils greater borrowing flexibility, and offering multi-year funding settlements. 

Without this financial certainty, it’s impossible to plan, invest, or build the kind of genuinely affordable homes England so desperately needs.

4. Prioritise quality, not just quantity

Building more homes is essential, but we can’t ignore the condition of people's current homes. Reports from charities like Z2K show that people in temporary and social housing face mould, damp, and unsafe living conditions.

Poor maintenance undermines the purpose of social housing: to provide safe, secure homes. 

Investment in repairs, inspections, and accountability needs to match the push for new builds. That means giving providers the resources and digital tools they need to keep homes in good condition.

But improving the quality of social homes isn’t just about providing better living conditions - it also helps keep more homes available. 

When properties fall into disrepair, they often become uninhabitable. That leads to longer void periods, costly refurbishments, and ultimately, a smaller pool of available social housing. 

Maintaining quality is essential not just for residents’ well-being but for protecting the long-term housing supply.

Ensuring Quality Social Homes

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This last point is where EVO plays a vital role. Social housing landlords can outsource all of their repairs and maintenance to our end-to-end digital platform. 

It uses modern technology and automation to help housing providers:

- Improve communication with residents. 

- Carry out repairs and maintenance more efficiently.

- Ensure work is of a high standard.

Here are some of EVO’s key features:

• Resident app: Residents report issues via the EVO Living smartphone app. It’s fast and easy, so no more waiting hours on the phone or wondering if someone has read their email. 

• Automation: Automated workflows mean jobs are booked efficiently, while real-time updates keep landlords, residents and tradespeople informed.

• Access to property data: Everyone can access all the data they need. Residents can find out about their tenancy and property, while tradespeople can access job history and property information. Landlords can use big data to power planned preventative maintenance initiatives.

• Transparency and accountability: From the moment a resident spots an issue to the point it's resolved, everything is logged, tracked, and managed in a single platform, so nothing gets missed. 

• All work is signed off and guaranteed: The EVO team signs off all jobs and provides a 12-month warranty, so you won’t have to pay twice if a repair fails. 

By reducing delays, improving communication, and supporting smarter maintenance planning, EVO helps protect the homes social housing providers already have - keeping them safe, liveable, and ready for the next family that needs them.

Keeping homes safe, secure and comfortable with EVO

The scale of the crisis is clear: social housing waiting lists are stretching beyond reason, and thousands of families are stuck in unsafe, temporary, or overcrowded homes. Fixing this will take bold commitments, from building more homes to reforming broken systems.

But it also means looking after the homes we already have.

At EVO, we help social housing providers maintain quality housing, reduce void periods, and respond to issues faster. This enables more families to live in homes that are safe, secure, and truly fit for purpose.

Contact us to learn how EVO can help your organisation.