The government’s July 2025 social housing announcement set a long-term ambition rather than a count of homes already delivered. Its new £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme aimed to support around 300,000 homes over ten years.
At least 60% were intended to be for social rent. Reaching that proportion would mean around 180,000 social-rent homes, but both figures were targets. They should not be presented as completed developments or as a guarantee of a home for any particular household.
Homes England was expected to deliver most of the funding, with up to £11.7 billion allocated through the Greater London Authority. The government argued that a longer settlement would help providers plan investment with greater certainty.
The programme formed part of a wider package covering investment capacity, council housebuilding and housing standards. Funding for new supply was therefore one strand of a broader policy effort, alongside the condition of existing homes.
The London Assembly’s July 2025 research briefing placed the new programme in context. It recorded that funding would support starts from 2026–27 to 2035–36, while also describing constraints on affordable-housing delivery.
These included construction costs, borrowing costs, workforce capacity and the expense of improving existing housing. The briefing also noted that London’s previous programme target had been reduced to a range of 17,800–19,000 starts by March 2026. That was a different programme and should not be confused with the new national ambition.
A further distinction is between new completions and the net change in affordable stock. Demolitions, Right to Buy sales and fully staircased shared-ownership homes can reduce the stock even while other homes are being added.
For readers assessing progress, the useful questions are therefore which programme a figure belongs to, whether it measures starts or completions, and over what period. This archive report records the position announced in 2025; later delivery statistics are needed to judge subsequent performance.