Expert coalition sets out roadmap to unlock England's social housing delivery

Key Recommendations

• grant the new construction regulator statutory powers to cut through twelve fragmented regulatory bodies and force coordination on the projects that matter most. Backed by Olympic Delivery Authority-style bodies for major housing schemes, with a clear mandate, real capital, and accountability on delivery 
• a national library of pre-approved, regulation-compliant housing designs, informed by what communities actually want. Turning consultation from a blocker into a builder of consent
• to unlock more viable social housing sites, government must ensure they fulfil their commitment to giving councils stronger, simpler compulsory purchase powers to acquire stalled or underused land at realistic, closer-to-existing-use values, backed by safeguards that put social value, fairness and timely delivery at the centre
• water and sewage infrastructure must be planned and funded alongside new homes by law, ending a situation where developers are ready to build but regulators estimate water constraints alone are costing the UK up to £25bn in undelivered housing.

Dom Veney, Chair of the Purposeful Finance Commission and Interim CEO, Pension Insurance Corporation said:

"More than 1.3 million households are on social housing waiting lists, yet we're only building around 10,000 new social homes a year. At the heart of this failure is the viability gap – the difference between what it costs to build social and affordable housing and what the revenues can ever support. Until we close that gap, we will keep converting good intentions into poorer delivery outcomes. These reforms are about making the system work - aligning incentives, reducing unnecessary delay, and turning institutional capital into homes that last."

Stephen Beechey, Group Public Sector Director at Wates Group, said:

“This research is a timely and practical intervention in the debate on social housing delivery. Everyone across the sector recognises the scale of ambition, but too often good intentions are undermined by a system that makes schemes unviable before they even reach site.

“What the Purposeful Finance Commission has set out is a credible roadmap for closing the viability gap – addressing land, regulation, infrastructure and delivery in the round. From our experience delivering social and affordable housing across the country, earlier coordination, clearer accountability and a stronger focus on whole‑life value are essential if public investment is to translate into homes at the scale and quality communities need.”

John Long, Development Director at igloo Regeneration said:

“This is a landmark piece of research that will be instrumental as we enter the next stage of delivering vital housing across the UK. At igloo, we have long championed building on brownfield land that would otherwise be unviable, so the actions that the Government has taken with new delivery vehicles such as Platform 4 is a real step forward.

"However, these initiatives must be paired with meaningful collaboration between the public and private sector, alongside community engagement to ensure that we are not just delivering houses, but creating thriving neighbourhoods that are valuable for people, place and planet.”

Notes to Editors

Chelsey Wheeler
Public Relations – Senior Manager
Wheeler@pensioncorporation.com
07586686414

About PIC
The purpose of PIC is to pay the pensions of its current and future policyholders. PIC provides secure retirement incomes through comprehensive risk management and excellence in asset and liability management, as well as exceptional customer service. At full year 2025, PIC had insured 438,000 pension scheme members and had £54.8 billion in financial investments, accumulated through the provision of tailored pension insurance buyouts and buy-ins to the trustees and sponsors of UK defined benefit pension schemes. At 31 December 2025, PIC had made total pension payments of £19.3 billion to its policyholders and had invested more than £15 billion in the UK economy, creating considerable social value. Clients include FTSE 100 companies, multinationals and the public sector. PIC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority (FRN 454345). For further information please visit www.pensioncorporation.com