A report has been published stating that, to meet the target of 1.5m homes, the government will need to deliver 450,000 homes in 2029
A report titled Roadmap to 1.5m New Homes, published by The Housing Forum, has analysed the requirements to hit Labour’s housing target.
The report says that in the current government’s final year, 450,000 new homes will need to be built to meet the 1.5m home target.
Hard work needed to reach Labour’s housing target
The report outlines a roadmap that would allow the Labour housing target to be met.
The map starts by looking at recent figures, including the 234,400 homes created in 2022-23, and the expectation that 2023-24 will see only 150,000 homes built.
Housebuilding will need to see an upward trajectory, the report says, to the point that the year 2028-29 will see 450,000 new homes built.
The report notes that this is a higher rate of housebuilding than has been seen in 50 years.
Some of the key issues in the way of Labour’s housing target are also highlighted in the report, including:
- The urgent need to address the financial crisis facing both councils and housing associations.
- The lack of land allocated for housing in Local Plans, and wider issues in the planning system.
- The rising costs of housebuilding – as highlighted in our new report on The cost of building a house.
- The necessary skills and labour to be building this number of new homes.
An exponential growth in houses is needed
The Housing Forum’s chief executive, Shelagh Grant, said: “We all know that a step change in housebuilding rates is needed. The Government’s targets are ambitious, especially given the challenging situation in which the housing sector currently finds itself. However, the organisations we work across the housing sector – from architects and manufacturers, to housebuilders, housing associations and local councils – are ambitious too.
“We’ve set out here the policy reforms that we believe would help the sector to deliver the new homes that are so badly needed.”
