There is no statutory definition of “affordable housing” in England. Indeed, the way the term ‘affordable’ is used in relation to housing is ambiguous. Apart from covering housing provided with public subsidy, it is used in a general way to describe housing of any tenure that is judged to be affordable to a particular household or group. Because of the lack of consensus over the meaning of “affordability” in terms of housing, it has been suggested that the concept should be abandoned because it has become unhelpful when considering the difficulties faced by households in meeting their housing needs.

For planning purposes, the most commonly referred to definition of affordable housing is set out in Annex 2 to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This is the definition that local planning authorities (LPAs) use when making provision to meet the local demand for affordable housing. The definition includes social rented housing, housing let at affordable rents, and low-cost home ownership.

“Affordable housing: housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not met by the market (including housing that provides a subsidized route to home ownership and/or is for essential local workers); and which complies with one or more of the following definitions.