Lack of RP bids stalls 17,000 affordable homes – HBF

Seventeen thousand affordable homes have stalled due to a lack of bids from housing associations, according to the Home Builders Federation.

HBF’s study reveals that at least 139 home building sites have ground to a halt due to uncontracted section 106 (s106) units.

This means that at least 17,432 affordable housing units with detailed planning permission are currently unbuilt, with a lack of registered providers (RPs) in the market “threatening supply.”

In its Bid Farewell report, HBF states that the s106 affordable housing delivery model now represents around 44% of all new affordable homes delivery.

But in recent years, the number of RPs actively bidding for s106 affordable homes has reduced, thanks to the “perform storm” of economic and policy pressures on the affordable housing sector.

Local authorities require a percentage of homes that private housebuilders produce to be affordable; RPs purchase them at a reduced price.

But the number of unbuilt sites because of a lack of s106 bids has forced housebuilders to re-evaluate “the pace and direction” of their building programmes, according to HBF. “This poses a serious threat to the future of their businesses and overall housing output.”

HBF said both private …