At Capsticks, we are committed to promoting innovative and financially sound solutions to the UK's most pressing legal and socio-economic challenges. We are therefore proud to officially endorse the new report, "Marking Social Rent Homes Viable".

The report has been published by Homes for People We Need, which is an informal collective of organisations, experts and practitioners from across the housing and real estate sector who share a common goal: to help solve the UK’s housing crisis.

This paper is essential reading for those involved in housing, investment, public policy, or infrastructure, as it definitively addresses the core issue crippling our affordable housing efforts: the financial viability gap.

The report can be read in full here.

Why this report matters  

The report provides the clearest analysis yet of why the current system fails to deliver the required number of Social Rent homes. Its key takeaways are critical: 

1. The scale of the shortfall: The UK needs to deliver 90,000 Social Rent homes annually, but proposed government funding under the new Affordable Homes Programme will only meet 20% of the £18.83 billion annual subsidy required to achieve this. 
2. The viability truth: The paper proves that Social Rent is structurally unviable without significant subsidy, as the low rents cannot cover the total development and operational costs, even if land is free. 
3. The solution: The report makes several pragmatic recommendations, including a Corporation Tax Credit scheme, further reforms to Right to Buy and a flexible rent model. The proposals collectively offer a mechanism to unlock billions in private pension fund investment now. At the same time, the report makes the case that investment into the sector is self-funding for the Treasury over time, as it contributes to social savings in other areas (such as temporary accommodation). 

Capsticks’ perspective 

As legal advisors and thought leaders in the social housing sector, we are committed to ensuring political and public recognition of the importance of the social housing sector, and the sector’s ongoing viability. This is why we have chosen to officially endorse this important report. 

The proposals put forward in the report present a powerful, novel, and legally viable framework for immediate action. Immediate action is needed if we are ever to make meaningful progress in tackling our housing crisis and providing genuinely affordable housing for everyone. 

We encourage you to read this paper and to share it widely. It is a blueprint for scaling the delivery of genuinely affordable housing and should be used as the factual basis to shape future policy decisions. 

If you would like to discuss the paper, please contact Darren Hooker.