15 Jun 2026
Further to our story last week about the Social Housing Bill, which began Lords scrutiny, the bill is now at Committee Stage in the House of Lords.
There are a number of amendments being considered which have been proposed by various Lords.
Lord Best has proposed an amendment to Clause 11 of the Bill.
Private registered providers of social housing are currently able to dispose of social housing under section 171 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. Clause 11 of the bill would add a new requirement that private registered providers must notify both the local authority and other private registered providers in their area when they intend to dispose of properties out of the social housing sector. This notice must be given at least four weeks before the sale is made.
However the amendment proposed by Lord Best would amend this from four weeks, to ‘eight weeks or twelve weeks if the property is in an area designated as a rural area under paragraph 17(1)(c) of Schedule 5 to the Housing ACT 1985.’
The concern is that when registered providers dispose of stock within rural communities, this may be the last social housing in the village and may ignore other options that may be available for example redeveloping the site at a higher density or offering it initially for sale to people with a local connection.
The affordable housing stock may not be replaced within that village, or surrounding area and yet we know that there is often evidenced need for this housing within rural communities.
