CIH publishes latest version of influential UK Housing Review

The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has published its annual UK Housing Review.

The review, which was unveiled at a House of Lords reception today, brings together housing statistics from across the UK and provides in-depth analysis from experts on issues, supported by more than 200 charts and tables.

The latest edition of the review includes a new detailed assessment of housing need in England carried out by Glen Bramley, professor of urban studies at Heriot-Watt University.

The conclusion of Bramley’s chapter said: “It would be reasonable to plan on the basis of achieving a total supply of at least 300,000 new homes annually, including 60-70,000 socially rented units. The total should rise to around 350,000 per annum from 2030, of which 90,000 should be for social rent.”

The review looks at constraints to achieving this level of supply and says between £10bn and £12bn of subsidy would be needed.

Housing Today’s A Fair Deal for Housing campaign is also calling for the government to take action to increase housebuilding to 300,000 homes a year.

Other chapters in the UK Housing Review include a look at how housing policy is failing to address ethnic inequalities, data and analysis of dwellings, stock conditions and households, a deep-dive into the private housing market and a ‘long-view’ of the housing benefit system.

Gavin Smart, chief executive of CIH, said: “This year’s UK Housing Review is published at a crucial time: never has the need for more housing investment and a strategic approach to housing policy been as great. I urge all political parties to engage with the wealth of information and analysis available in the UK Housing Review series.”

Crossbench peer Lord Richard Best, who hosted the House of Lords launch event, said: “”Every year the UK Housing Review brings us all up to speed with the hard evidence and clear analysis that should - but seldom does - inform all housing policy decisions.”