Andy Burnham on social housing and waiting lists, 1 September 2026

The statement

we have a public housing stock that has 1.5 million fewer homes than in the ’80s and ’90s, and we now have 1.5 million people on housing waiting lists up and down the country.

Andy Burnham, 1 September 2026. Source

What the sources report

• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Local authority housing statistics 2024-25, regional data reports households on local authority housing registers, England (1 April 2025): 1340527households^src
• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Dwelling stock estimates, England: 31 March 2025 reports social and affordable rented dwellings, England (31 March 2025): 4.2million dwellings^src
• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Dwelling stock estimates, England: 31 March 2025 reports social rented dwellings, England (2001): 4236000dwellings^src

Notes

Local authority returns show 1,340,527 households on housing registers in England at 1 April 2025. The measure counts households, not people, and covers England only.

MHCLG reports 4.2 million social and affordable rented homes in England at 31 March 2025, and 4,236,000 social rented homes in 2001.