Housing and homelessness

The assessments of the policy area on this page were based on a snapshot of progress on 20 July 2026 and do not reflect more recent announcements.

Lead departments 

• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 
• Department for Work and Pensions 

Why it matters to health  

Decent, affordable, secure housing plays an important role in health. Housing hazards affect 8% of households in England and cost the NHS £1.4bn a year. 28% of low-income households spend more than a third of their income on rent. Insecure housing can affect family life, education and employment. And damp, inadequately heated homes can cause respiratory and other health problems. Living in bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) and other forms of temporary accommodation can be particularly damaging for health.  

Labour’s commitments 

Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised ‘the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation’, with a commitment to: 

• build 1.5 million new homes 
• introduce new rights for people living in private rented housing, including an end to ‘no-fault’ evictions  
• introduce a Warm Homes Plan to cut energy costs.  

It also promised a cross-government strategy to put Britain back on track to ending homelessness. 

Status of this policy area 

The government has passed significant legislation on renting. It has also introduced a 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme, but it is off track in delivering against its ambitions for housebuilding targets. Although the previous government was committed to ending no-fault evictions, this was not implemented. Additionally, Housing Benefit for private renters was often frozen between 2012 and 2024, leading to increased homelessness.  

• Affordability: The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 restricts private landlords to one rental increase a year and gives renters the right to appeal against above-market increases. However, rates of Housing Benefit for private renters have again been frozen until at least March 2027. This breaks the link between benefit rates and actual rents, and worsens affordability.  
• Rights and security: The Renters’ Rights Act has increased security for private renters through an end to no-fault evictions and by abolishing fixed-term tenancies.  
• Quality and warmth: The Decent Homes Standard has been revised and will apply to private rented homes as well as social housing from 2035. The Warm Homes Plan aims to invest £15bn in upgrading homes to tackle fuel poverty, cold homes, energy efficiency and climate resilience. The Future Homes Standard aims to reduce emissions from new builds, supporting warmer homes and lower energy costs. 
• Affordable housing: A new 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme provides £39bn in funding, alongside a Social Housing Bill and planning reform, with the aim of building 300,000 new affordable homes over a decade. However, funding has been weighted towards the end of the programme and delivery is significantly off track, with the overall rate of housebuilding under the Starmer government falling to the lowest level in a decade. 
• Homelessness: The National Plan to End Homelessness was published in December 2025, with commitments including ending the use of B&Bs to house homeless families for more than 6 weeks and stopping people from being discharged from hospital onto the street.