Homes England Reports 65% Rise in Social Rent Completions in 2025 to 2026

Homes England has published its annual housebuilding statistics for the year to March 2026, and the standout figure is a sharp rise in homes built for social rent, the most deeply subsidised tenure and the one most closely tied to housing those in greatest need. The data lands at a pivotal moment for the sector, with a new decade-long funding programme now underway and the biggest overhaul of Right to Buy in the scheme's history passing through Parliament. ## What the figures show

The government's housing agency reported a broad-based increase in delivery across the year. Overall output rose, with affordable tenures making up the large majority of both starts and completions.

Within that total, social rent, the lowest-cost form of social housing, saw the most striking movement, reflecting a deliberate shift in emphasis towards tenures aimed at households on the lowest incomes.

• • 42,433 housing starts on site and 40,332 completions in 2025 to 2026.
• • Starts up 11% and completions up 9% on the previous year.
• • 32,243 completions were affordable homes, 80% of the total and up 14%.
• • 9,381 completions were for social rent, an increase of 3,691 or 65%.

Today's figures are a marker of progress, more homes started, more homes completed, and a significant 65% increase in social rent completions.

Amy Rees CB, Chief Executive of Homes England, 2026

A shift towards social rent, but from a low base

While the percentage increase is large, social rent still represented under a third of overall affordable delivery, underlining how far the tenure had fallen in recent years. The rise reflects a rebalancing rather than a wholesale transformation of output.

The picture on starts was more mixed. Social rent starts fell over the year, partly because a growing share of homes are now begun before their final tenure is confirmed, with the tenure recorded at completion instead.

The wider policy backdrop

The statistics arrive as the government's new ten-year funding settlement gets going and as legislation reshapes the rules on selling social homes. Together these measures point towards a policy priority of protecting and expanding the social housing stock.

The Social Housing Bill, at report stages in Parliament, tightens Right to Buy by lengthening the qualifying period, cutting discounts and exempting newly built social and affordable homes from the scheme for a period, alongside new protections for victims of domestic abuse.

• • The £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme is now operational.
• • Right to Buy reforms aim to stem long-term decline in social housing stock.
• • The reformed Decent Homes Standard is due to apply to social and private rented homes from 2035.

The direction of travel is clear: after years of decline, social rent is being placed back at the centre of affordable delivery, though the sector still faces significant challenges around viability, build costs and planning. With a new long-term programme now in place, the coming years will test whether this uplift can be sustained at scale. Silkwood Group will continue to monitor how these policy and delivery shifts shape the supported and affordable housing landscape.

Sources

• • GOV.UK, New Homes England 2025 to 2026 housebuilding statistics published
• • GOV.UK, Housing Statistics June 2026 (HTML)
• • Social Housing, Homes England-backed social rent completions jump 65%
• • Planning Portal, Planning news 4 June 2026 (Social Housing Bill and Right to Buy reforms)