IN Brief:
- Proposed amendments would give councils powers to refer homeless households to private registered social housing providers.
- The government intends an eight-week notification period before certain social homes are sold outside the regulated sector.
- The Bill is now before a Commons Public Bill Committee, with line by line scrutiny scheduled to begin on 27 October.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced further amendments to the Social Housing Bill covering homelessness referrals, disposals of social homes and cooperation between public services.
The government says councils will be given powers to refer homeless households to private registered providers of social housing. It also intends to introduce a disposals notification requirement giving councils and other social housing providers a longer opportunity to consider purchasing homes before they are sold outside the regulated sector.
The proposed notification period is eight weeks. A further Duty to Collaborate would require public services to work more closely to identify people at risk of homelessness and consider action within their existing responsibilities.
The measures were announced on 28 September while the Bill is before the House of Commons. Parliament’s current Bill record shows that it completed second reading on 10 September and has been sent to a Public Bill Committee, which is scheduled to begin line by line scrutiny on 27 October and is expected to report by 3 November.
The amendments do not create construction contracts directly, but they sit within the asset and investment framework used by councils and housing associations to plan new development, acquisitions, disposals and improvement programmes. Rules affecting whether homes remain inside the social housing sector can influence capital planning because providers have to balance existing stock obligations against spending on new supply.
An eight-week notification period would add a defined stage before certain disposals leave the regulated sector. Whether another landlord chooses to buy will depend on the asset, price and local need, but the process is intended to create more opportunity for social housing providers to retain homes within the sector rather than seeing them move directly to the open market.
Acquired or retained homes can carry construction consequences of their own. Existing properties may require condition surveys, compliance work, refurbishment or energy improvements before they can be relet, while keeping stock also preserves future maintenance liabilities. Those costs sit alongside the capital requirements of developing new homes and can influence how providers phase investment.
The legislation is progressing alongside the government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme for 2026 to 2036. The government has committed £39 billion over ten years to the programme, which could support around 300,000 affordable homes over its lifetime. Current programme guidance sets a target for at least 60% of funded homes to be for Social Rent.
The existing Bill already addresses wider issues including Right to Buy and protection of social housing stock, so the September announcement expands rather than replaces the legislative package. The government presents the new provisions as measures to strengthen homelessness prevention and retain homes within the sector, while Parliament will determine the final statutory form through amendment and scrutiny. Housing bodies can prepare for the direction of the proposals, but operational procedures cannot assume that an announced amendment has the force or exact wording of enacted law before the Bill completes its remaining stages.
The funding commitment gives housing providers a longer investment horizon, but the Bill remains subject to parliamentary scrutiny and amendment. The 28 September measures are therefore proposals until they are incorporated into legislation and complete the parliamentary process. Delivery bodies will need the final statutory wording and subsequent guidance before adjusting procedures around referrals or disposals.
A housing association deciding whether to acquire a home offered through the notification process will have to consider purchase cost, condition, planned maintenance and management requirements against other calls on its capital programme. A council making homelessness referrals will similarly depend on available homes rather than the legal power alone.
The Duty to Collaborate may affect operational relationships between housing providers and public services, but the government announcement does not quantify additional housing supply or construction output arising from the measure. Any effect on development volumes should therefore be treated separately from the £39 billion programme, which is the direct funding mechanism for new social and affordable housing.
The Bill’s next formal stage is committee scrutiny in the Commons. That process will determine how the government’s new amendments are incorporated and whether further changes are made before report stage and third reading. Housing providers will have a firmer basis for implementation once that legislative work is complete.
