WILTSHIRE Council has warned that a growing funding shortfall is putting the future of new social housing at risk.

The authority is urging the government to act quickly to prevent further delays to much-needed developments.

In a letter to Minister of State for Housing and Planning Matthew Pennycook, the council’s cabinet member for strategic planning, planning development and housing, Cllr Adrian Foster, set out the mounting pressures facing councils and registered providers as they try to meet tougher national standards while continuing to build new homes.

The council welcomed several recent government initiatives including changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) announced in November 2024.

The update placed greater emphasis on genuinely affordable housing, prioritising social rent homes – set at around 50% to 55% of market rates – over affordable rent properties, which can cost up to 80% of market value.

Wiltshire Council has also backed new legislation designed to improve housing quality and strengthen tenant protections.

This includes Awaab’s Law, which introduces strict timescales for social landlords to deal with serious hazards such as damp and mould and the requirement for all homes to reach an energy efficiency rating of EPC C by 2030.

However, the council says these welcome reforms are not being matched by the funding needed to deliver them.

Rising interest rates, higher maintenance and retrofit costs, and additional compliance requirements are placing increasing strain on registered providers.

In some cases, this has already led to social rent homes being removed from planned developments in Wiltshire and replaced with shared ownership properties.

Cllr Foster said the situation was becoming unsustainable. He added: “We are facing a housing crisis driven by long-term underinvestment in social rent housing. Unless Registered Providers receive the support they need, the delivery of new social homes, and the improvement of existing stock, will continue to stall.

“That is why we are calling on the government to review the funding challenges facing registered providers and ensure that the £39 billion allocated to Homes England can be effectively utilised to deliver high-quality, affordable and social rental homes for those who need them most, both in Wiltshire and across the country.”