In December 2020, Homes England reported that between 1st April and 30th September that year, the number of housing starts was the lowest since 2012-2013, at 11,313 homes. Housing completions had also decreased to 11,358 houses - the lowest since 2015-2016. The reduction of both starts and completions is partly due to the coronavirus pandemic, which caused significant complications for housebuilding activity. Affordable housing made up 79% of housing starts in this period, which has decreased by 32% from the previous year – putting the number of affordable homes at its lowest since 2017-2018. Housing associations are under pressure to provide affordable housing for those in need, and the pressure is greater during the current period of economic uncertainty, furlough, and redundancy.
