A UK Parliament research briefing covering the trends in housing supply and barriers and potential solutions to delivering more homes in England.
It’s difficult to put a precise number on the amount of new housing needed in England.
Need for new housing arises when population growth leads to new households forming, but other factors also have an effect. There’s a backlog of need among people currently living in unsuitable accommodation, and affordability pressures can prevent people accessing the housing they need.
According to one estimate commissioned by the National Housing Federation (NHF) and Crisis from Heriot-Watt University, around 340,000 new homes need to be supplied in England each year, of which 145,000 should be affordable.
When people are unable to access suitable housing it can result in overcrowding, more young people living with their parents for longer, impaired labour mobility, which makes it harder for businesses to recruit staff, and increased levels of homelessness.
You can read the research briefing on the UK parliament site here.