England’s 4.2 million social rented homes contribute at least £77.7 billion a year to the national economy in savings for the NHS, councils, police and government, and in the economic opportunities created for residents, according to new research published today.

However, based on the average value brought by a social tenancy of at least £18,051 in 2023/24, England is also missing at least £25.25bn of value this year from the 1.4 million social homes that have been lost since 1979, researchers say.  

Now, a group of leading social housing providers is urging the government to tackle the housing crisis, through a long-term plan for affordable housing, including the building of 90,000 new social homes each year, as called for by the National Housing Federation and Shelter.

The Hyde Group, one of England’s biggest builders of affordable housing, working with 5 other leading housing associations and the homebuilder, Vistry Group, commissioned Jim Clifford OBE, Honorary Professor at Sheffield Hallam University, and his team at Sonnet Advisory & Impact, to provide economic analysis of the benefits of England’s social housing stock. The new report is an update of well-respected research originally published in 2018 by Hyde and Sonnet.

The new report, The value of a social tenancy: Updating and developing the model in 2024, calculates the savings to the state, and benefits to other public bodies, of someone living in social housing, compared to someone living in temporary accommodation, or poor-quality private accommodation.

Researchers broke down the value of the economic benefits of social housing for people living in social housing, and the savings that social housing generates for different government departments. The value of these benefits across all of England’s social homes include:

•  Saving the NHS at least £19bn a year: People living in social housing have improved mental and physical health, make fewer GP and A&E visits, have fewer drug and alcohol issues, there are fewer falls for the elderly and fewer cases of asthma.  
• Saving the Department for Work and Pensions at least £2.4bn a year: People living in social housing are more likely to be employed than, for example, someone in temporary accommodation, reducing Universal Credit claims. 
• Generating at least £35bn for the UK economy: More adults living in social housing are in work and are in work for longer because of the stability social housing provides. Work absences of people living in social housing is about half that of those privately renting.  
• Saving local councils at least £8bn a year: Significant savings are made by keeping residents out of temporary accommodation, helping the elderly stay independent for longer, and because children living in social housing are less likely to be on the Child Protection Register. 
• Saving police and justice at least £9.6bn a year: People living in social housing are less likely to be involved in, or to be, victims of crime. 
• Improving education to boost the economy by at least £2.5bn a year: Children living in social housing are more likely to attend school and have improved earning potential.
• Preventing at least £218m of personal debt a year: People living in social housing are less likely to have problems with debt.

The research is based on the analysis of savings and benefits provided by more than 220,000 social homes provided by 6 housing associations across England. 

Researchers found the social homes managed by The Hyde Group, A2 Dominion, The Guinness Partnership, Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, Platform Housing Group, and Sovereign Network Group generated a total of £4.04bn of value from social tenancies in 2023/24, across a total portfolio of 221,398 general needs tenancies.

The average value of a social tenancy for each household living in a general needs social housing tenancy is at least £18,051 per year.

However, when the value of building new homes and maintaining existing homes is taken into account, the average value per social tenancy rises to at least £23,777 a year or £5.26bn in total across the 6 housing associations.

These findings have then been extrapolated to provide an analysis of the annual value of a social tenancy for England’s current 4.2m social homes this year, as well as the value this year that would have been generated from the 1.4m social homes that have been lost to the social housing sector since 1979.

This new report comes just weeks after the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee inquiry reported that the social housing sector is “under serious financial pressure” and called for greater government investment in social housing.

Leading social housing providers are now urging the government to look at the findings and provide a stable, long-term national plan for housing to enable them to attract more private investment into social and affordable housing.

As part of this plan, they are calling for the reinstatement of rent convergence, a ten-year index-linked rent settlement for social housing providers and a ten-year funding commitment for the Affordable Homes Programme.

Andy Hulme, chief executive of The Hyde Group, said: "Secure, affordable and safe social housing provides people with a stable foundation from which to build a life, build a career and to start and raise a family.

“By using detailed real-world data, we’ve been able to paint a picture of a life without social housing and the massive impact this would have to the economy and public services.

“This report shows social housing saves public services billions of pounds every year and boosts the economy too. 

“Without social housing, there would be more people out of work, more pressure on the NHS, and more incidents of crime, costing the public purse dearly and creating real damage to our society.

“However, this report also allows us to place a value on the social homes we’ve lost over the past four and a half decades. Failing to replace these homes is costing the economy and society a huge amount each year. 

“With a growing demand for social housing, and dwindling supply, this research shows why a clear long-term national plan for social and affordable housing is so important, because the benefits of social housing outweigh the costs.

“Our country desperately needs more social housing, and we need a long-term plan to deliver public funding and to unlock the private investment which will make it happen.”

Stephen Teagle, chief executive of Partnerships and Regeneration at the Vistry Group, said: “Vistry are very proud to have collaborated with Hyde and other partners in the production of this work. It clearly evidences the value to the taxpayer and the Treasury for more investment in affordable homes.  

“The argument for building more social housing is the strongest that it has been since after the second world war. This independent report, which builds upon the NHF and Shelter work earlier in the year, further demonstrates the economic and social benefits that would be secured through a long-term plan for providing more affordable homes in the country. What we now need is action from government.”

Professor Jim Clifford, chief executive of Sonnet Impact, said: “Social housing creates stability in tenants’ lives and provides support around them when needed that enables them to manage daily living.  That is even more the case than when we did the first study in 2018.  What has also changed is the emergence of digital exclusion as a big issue, with people facing being cut out of a wide range of the everyday supports, from access to work to deals on everyday essentials, from banking to benefits and social support.  Social housing providers are working to combat this for their tenants.

“Social housing is not just for people struggling to keep their heads above water, coping with health and financial issues.  It also brings its stability to those facing employment uncertainty and in-work poverty, and for those in regular employment who manage well, but need that stability to keep doing so.

“The figures in the evaluation are up against those in earlier years as the effects of COVID and the cost of living and fuel crises bite many, and Social housing tenants are to some degree cushioned from the worst of that.  Social housing, its stability and support, remain a major contributor of value in our local and national economies, and in the lives of real people.”

Jamie Ratcliff, chief communities and sustainability officer, Sovereign Network Group, said: “A good affordable home provides the foundation from which people can transform their own lives, grow and take opportunities that would otherwise have been impossible. I'm thrilled SNG have supported the work to refresh this model. The value of a social tenancy is not just these massive human benefits, which ripple through the generations in the form of improved life chances, this model also clearly sets out a range of societal benefits which accrue and measures their fiscal value. It should be of great use to policy-makers, bean counters and anyone interested in the future of this country.”