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The crisis in affordable house building is likely to get worse after the general election if next Government cuts budgets.
The National Housing Federation and the Home Builders Federation have warned that around 600,000 planned affordable homes will not be built on time, worsening construction unemployment and creating an unprecedented shortage of homes.
The associations fear that cuts of 25% to the housing budget – as implied in the latest Budget – could mean:
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builder Federation, said: “We already have a chronic shortage of housing in this country that is having significant social and economic implications.
The Federation and HBF said that it was high time that political parties viewed housing in the same ‘untouchable’ terms as health and education.
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “Unless all three main parties commit to protecting the housing budget after the election, we could see affordable house building falling off a cliff.
“It is imperative that public spending to support affordable house building is maintained post election if the crisis is not to plunge to new depths.”
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