30% Homes for Social Rent in all new developments: Why now is the time for Manchester’s Executive Committee to take a stand on the housing crisis

On 30th July, Manchester City Council planning officers will present a draft Local Plan to the Executive Committee for approval. This will effectively determine how much housing of what tenure is developed and where in Manchester for at least the next ten years (the last Local Plan was published in 2012).

The Social Homes for Manchester Coalition is calling on the Executive Committee to ensure that the draft Local Plan sets a target of 30% social rent on all new developments of ten homes or above.

30% social rent is needed to address Manchester’s worsening housing crisis. As the first report of the Manchester Social Housing Commission has detailed:

“Despite its booming economy and skyline over the last 25 years, Manchester has the third highest local rate of homelessness outside London and the highest local rate of temporary accommodation in England outside London (three times the national average). Worse, Manchester has the sixth highest number of children living in temporary accommodation in England, including London. This is just the tip of a growing iceberg with 19,157 households officially recorded on the social housing waiting list in February 2025, a 69% increase since 2015/16. This includes many who have already waited years and some who will never be housed but excludes many more in housing need deemed ineligible for the register.”[i]

A major reason for this terrible situation is the weakness of the current Local Plan in force since 2012, which set a requirement of just 5% social rent for new housing developments. Official statistics show that only 2% of new build housing in the city between 2012 and 2022 was for social rent.

The Executive Committee (all Labour councillors with the exception of consultative seats for the Leaders of opposition parties) has the power to insist that the new Local Plan and any associated housing strategies are amended. This is a political decision.

We are calling on all Executive members to ensure that the plan includes a minimum requirement for 30% of all new build housing developments of ten homes or above to be Homes for Social Rent before it goes out for an 8-week consultation period called the Regulation 18 consultation.

Do not be fooled. 30% IS viable AND essential

For the last 12 months through an investigative initiative called the Manchester Social Housing Commission we have had a team of researchers and senior (independent) planning professionals working with us as well as a series of expert speakers. The comparative research we have carried out together with advice from our expert speakers and fellow Commissioners makes a clear case that it is entirely possible for Manchester’s Executive Committee to insist on a target of 30% social rent in the new Local Plan even before Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement of £39 billion of new investment in social and affordable housing over the next ten years.

This comparative table shows the % targets that have been set by other Local Authorities with varying land values across their city’s landscape and varying urban contexts including our closest neighbour Salford. Manchester is years behind other cities in building the Homes for Social Rent we so desperately need..

30% is not a made-up number.  Research by Professor Glen Bramley that models housing supply requirements across England consistent with the government’s own target for 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament shows that 32% of all net additions to the housing stock in Manchester should be for Social Rent.[iii]

Senior political support exists in Manchester – now it’s time for action

The most senior politicians in the city with responsibility for housing, planning, and neighbourhoods have all publicly pledged their support for the inclusion of a target of 30% Homes for Social Rent in the new Local Plan.

·       Cllr Gavin White – Executive Member for Housing and Development

·       Cllr Tracey Rawlins – Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport

·       Cllr Lee Ann Igbon – Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods

We want to take a moment to thank all 34 ward councillors and Executive Members who have already publicly pledged their support for this critical issue:

If you are a ward councillor in Manchester and you have not yet pledged your support, it takes less than one minute – all you have to do is fill out this google form and we will add your name to the list of councillors who are committing themselves to urgent action on the housing crisis.

Whether you have pledged or not, now is the time to make your voice heard with your council Leader and the council Executive. Make sure they know the strength of feeling across Manchester: now is the time to act on the crisis.

Labour will be held accountable come May 2026 if it fails to take action to ensure our children have access to a safe, decent, and secure home.

[i] Manchester Social Housing Commission (2025), Manchester’s Housing Crisis in Context: Why we need sustainable homes for social rent https://www.socialhomes4mcr.org.uk/publications; in Oct-Dec 2024 there were 4,498 children living in Temporary Accommodation in Manchester 

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness

[ii] Table 1011: additional affordable housing supply, detailed breakdown by local authorityhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/667983e9921ddc8344a00f54/Live_Table_1011.xlsx

[iii] Bramley, G (2024), Housing Requirements in England Revisited. Full Technical Report of independent research to update estimates of requirements for overall, affordable and social housing provision in England and the associated requirements for public subsidy. Heriot-Watt University