The housing crisis and social housing allocations

15 April 2026

There is intense demand for social housing in England, driven by a lack of supply of social homes and wider affordability challenges.

With that context, how and to whom social housing is allocated really matters as decisions will involve trade offs between an array of different pressures.

Our policy discussion paper draws on extensive member engagement to distil how allocations work in practice, revealing key challenges and pressure points in the system.

It sets out key themes from member discussions, examples of good practice and recommendations to inform the government’s review of statutory guidance on allocations.

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Who to speak to

Viktorija Kiselyte

Viktorija.Kiselyte@housing.org.uk