When did social housing become so unaffordable?

And how is BRIKCOIN solving the problem?

According to the official headline statistics from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, 57,485 affordable homes were delivered in the 2018/2019 year. While experts agree that this is still far too low to serve the needs of the UK population, it nevertheless shows a willingness to accommodate the vulnerable in society.

But dig a little deeper into the data and the reality of affordable housing is much bleaker

Take a look at this graph from the government’s own whitepaper and we can see that while affordable housing stock appears to be have been on the rise since 2015, this is hugely dependent on what is termed “affordable rent”. In contrast, the figures for genuine Social Rent properties have plummeted. From over 50,000 homes per year in the early 1990s, the figure today is nearer 5,000.

Affordable rent was introduced by the UK government in 2011 and was set at 80% of the local average rental cost, while social rents, which are pegged to local incomes, have been around for a lot longer – itʼs what youʼd normally associate with traditional council housing.

According to a survey by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, social rents are, on average, 30% lower than “affordable rents”. With over a million people who are on or below the poverty line sitting on local government waiting lists for housing one would think that the decision to build houses and flats for social rent would be obvious. But as this graph shows, building homes for social rent declined dramatically as developers and housing associations transferred their efforts to affordable rental builds able to generate quicker profits to make up for the lack of subsidies and grants for social rent build.

Bucking the trend with BRIKCOIN

Now hereʼs the exciting bit. BRIKCOIN’s unique approach enables us to build for social rental tenure without any taxpayer support from either local or national government. Our funding model and business plan allows us to fully fund all construction and property management, while our tenants enjoy the genuine affordability of a social rental agreement and all the additional securities of tenure that come with it. As for our partners, the local authorities, they get a high quality, sustainable solution to local social housing needs without having to dig into their stretched budgets. They can also avoid making compromises to ensure their development partners can turn a profit.