Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential reasons for housing associations selling homes previously let out for social rent.

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) publishes annual statistics relating to the social housing stock owned and managed by Private Registered Providers in England, including information on stock lost from the sector. Sales for non-social use in 2023/24 were recorded as 4,341 homes. Further information can be found on gov.uk here.

RSH’s analysis suggests that providers are undertaking fixed asset sales for a variety of reasons. These include stock rationalisation and disposal of uneconomic properties, as well as generating receipts to support reinvestment in new and existing stock.