Labour on course to miss housing targets without urgent action

Labour’s housing target of 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament is doomed to fail without urgent action, claims firm.

Analysis from planning consultancy Lanpro reveals delivery is 10% down on the ten-year average, and well below the 300,000 per year widely accepted as the minimum needed to reach Labour’s pledge.

At the current rate, only half of the promised homes are likely to be delivered.

It’s not clear how the target will be met

The latest estimates from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) indicate that around 196,500 dwellings were added to England’s housing stock in 2024–25, an average of 16,375 homes a month.

By contrast, the previous decade averaged 222,746 homes a year: 18,562 per month.

If delivery continues at today’s rate, Lanpro calculates that the country will be around 860,000 homes short by the end of 2029, missing the headline 1.5 million target by nearly half (46%).

Faraz Baber, chief operating officer at Lanpro, said: “During the Labour Party Conference, we heard the mantra ‘build baby build’ numerous times. Yet our analysis shows that to pick up the necessary speed to meet the target, record-breaking numbers of homes will need to be built in a short space of time. Based on the current housing delivery trajectory, if we do not see a significant uptick with immediate effect, we could see the target missed by almost half.

“This will require a holistic, cross-departmental collaborative approach, led by both No.10 and the Treasury, working with local authorities and government agencies. It will require a significant number of these homes need to be built directly by the government and its associated agencies and will require alignment with transport and energy planning.

“Failing this, it’s not clear how the target will be met.”

South East and London are furthest from meeting targets

According to the research, the South East and London, where housing need is most acute, are also the furthest from meeting targets, achieving just 47% and 35% of their estimated requirements in 2024–25. By contrast, parts of the East Midlands (79%) and North East (77%) are closer to keeping pace.

At local authority level, the contrast is even sharper. Preston added homes at 232% of assessed need in 2023–24, with Ribble Valley (186%) and Salford (196%) also exceeding targets.

Yet many high-demand southern councils delivered less than 20% of the homes they require, with Kensington and Chelsea at just 5% and Bromley at 8%.