Estimates have put the number of new homes needed in England at up to 345,000 per year, accounting for new household formation and a backlog of existing need for suitable housing. In 2018/19, the total housing stock in England increased by around 241,000 homes. This was 9% higher than the year before – and the amount of new homes supplied annually has been growing for several years – but is still lower than estimated need. Housing need manifests itself in a variety of ways, such as increased levels of overcrowding, acute affordability issues, more young people living with their parents for longer periods, impaired labour mobility resulting in businesses finding it difficult to recruit and retain staff, and increased levels of homelessness.

The 2015 Government set out an ambition to deliver 1 million net additions to the housing stock by the end of the Parliament, which was expected to be in 2020. Net additions include, for example, conversions and changes of use. Critics said that the figure did not take account of the backlog of housing need. The House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs concluded in Building More Homes (2016), that the target “was not based on a robust analysis” and went on to recommend that the housing crisis required the development of at least 300,000 new homes annually “for the foreseeable future.” In addition to questioning whether a target of 1 million homes is ambitious enough, there was some doubt over whether the number was achievable.

The Conservative Government elected in 2017 had a manifesto pledge to meet the 2015 commitment to deliver 1 million homes by the end of 2020 and to “deliver half a million more by the end of 2022.” The Autumn Budget 2017 set out an ambition “to put England on track to deliver 300,000 new homes a year.” In January 2018, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was renamed the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to reflect a “renewed focus to deliver more homes.” The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) was relaunched as Homes England on 11 January 2018.