Angela Rayner Announces New Social Housing Controls in England

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner announced new measures at the Labour conference to increase public control of housing in England. The proposed social housing bill will prohibit housing associations from declining homeless families without providing reasonable grounds and grant local councils a 60-day window to bid for social homes before they are sold on the open market.

The government will also mandate a collaboration duty requiring public services, including health services, to refer individuals at risk of homelessness for support. While Rayner encouraged councils to submit plans for council-owned housing within an upcoming £16bn affordable homes funding round, she did not commit the entire fund specifically to social housing.

Homelessness charities Crisis and Shelter described the initiatives as significant steps toward ending homelessness. Crisis characterized the new referral duties as a gamechanger for those sleeping rough, while Shelter argued that the measures require a massive increase in new social home construction, specifically to 90,000 per year, to be effective.