What housing associations do

Housing associations provide homes and support for almost six million people around England. They offer social homes, shared ownership homes, some market homes to rent and buy and essential supported and specialist housing.

They also invest in community services and regeneration, provide support to vulnerable people and reinvest all their income into delivering their social purpose.

Social homes

The most common type of home housing associations provide is social rented and affordable rented housing, which are offered to people on lower incomes at a subsidised rent.

Social rented homes are usually rented at about 50% of the average local market rent and affordable rented homes are rented at around 80% of the local market rent.

Find out more about social housing and how to get a social housing association home.

Shared ownership homes

Shared ownership is a more affordable way to buy your own home. You buy a percentage of the property, between 25% and 75%, and pay a reduced rent on the rest to a housing association.

Buying a percentage means a smaller deposit and a smaller mortgage, so it can help you take your first step on the ladder sooner.

Find out more about shared ownership and how to get a shared ownership home.

Supported and specialist housing

Supported and specialist housing helps older people and people who need extra support to live independently.

Examples of supported and specialist housing can include:

• Homes with extra space or facilities for people with mobility problems.
• Homes where the housing association provides care and support services to residents.
• Specialist services like domestic abuse shelters and homeless hostels.

Housing associations are the main provider of supported housing in England, with 300,000 homes for older people and more than 115,000 homes for people who need extra support.

Find out more about supported and specialist housing.

Market homes to rent and buy

Housing associations also provide quality homes to rent or buy at market rates.

They put all the proceeds from the rent and sale of these homes into delivering their social purpose, either by building more social and affordable homes or by investing in their local communities.

Find out how to rent or buy a housing association home.

Building new homes

Housing associations build thousands of new homes for communities around the country. In 2018/19, they built more than 45,000 homes, nearly a third of all new homes in England.

This includes more than 5,000 homes for social rent, more than 19,000 homes for affordable rent, and more than 14,000 homes for shared ownership.

To do this, they invest their own money to top up funding provided by the government. In 2017/18, they invested £10bn on top of £1bn invested by the government.

Housing associations have an ambition to build many more new homes. England needs 340,000 new homes every year, including 145,000 social and affordable homes, and housing associations are calling for government investment to get these homes built.

Community services and regeneration

Housing associations make a long-term commitment to the communities they work in.

They run services for local people, including training and advice, apprenticeships, youth schemes and community hubs.

They also invest in regenerating poor quality homes and work closely with partners like local authorities and residents to create happy, thriving places where people want to live.

How housing associations invest their money

Housing associations are not-for-profit organisations set up to provide affordable homes and support local communities.

They don’t make profits for shareholders. Instead, they invest all the income they make into delivering on their social purpose.

This includes building new affordable homes for people who need them, investing in the safety and quality of existing homes, running community services, and providing care and support for older people and those who need it.

For every £1 of government investment, housing associations invest £6 of their own money into the development of new affordable homes.