‘Ends and Means: The Future Roles of Social Housing in England’, a government-commissioned report written by Professor John Mills, insisted that social housing should not be ignored and was a vital means of supplying people unable to buy a property with a means of doing so.
Mills concluded people living in social housing should be given more help to buy their home, but at the same time social housing should not be neglected because of its vital role as a ‘safety net’ for many at the bottom of the market.
The report stated: ‘Social housing plays a crucial role for nearly four million households in England. It gives many families stability and security in a fundamental part of their lives. The quality of housing it provides is usually significantly higher than tenants with low incomes could afford in the private sector.
‘The existence of social housing in particular has allowed its tenants to be protected from the effects of rising house prices, at a time when the ratio of house prices to household incomes is at an historic high.’
While an emphasis on building more social housing, as well as including private housing within estates to improve the desirability of areas, was needed, the report insisted it would not have an impact on driving overall house prices down.
Neil Johnson, head of PR and policy at the Building Societies Association, believed this was the starting point for a wider debate.
“It is interesting how the report spoke lots about making social housing something which you pass in and out of because if you can crack the nut of getting them onto the wider market then it will overcome a major challenge. However, there is the problem of will lenders lend on schemes to help them buy their homes when the share of equity is low. It’s not viable.”
