Willmott Dixon has co-sponsored UCL's latest in-depth report on local authority house building, which provides a wealth of insight and knowledge that lifts the lid on the barriers and opportunities for councils building homes.

It's the most comprehensive look yet at motivations, means, methods and challenges facing local government housebuilding activity. While most councils directly engage in housing delivery, the reports highlights significant issues that prevent this being further scaled-up to meet much needed housing, particularly affordable homes.


According to UCL, there is "a growth in housing acquisition", with 54% of councils saying they were buying back Right to Buy (RtB) properties, up from 40% in 2019. Four in 10 said they felt the current government policy allowing them to keep 100% of RTB receipts for two years will help them directly build more housing.

London boroughs, supported by the London mayor’s Affordable Homes Programme, are "still delivering more homes than other parts of England". Over half of all councils (53%) reported that increased costs of retrofitting existing housing, due to fire safety or damp and mould, were impacting their plans to deliver new housing. However, just 7% of councils said the recent wave of local authority Section 114 notices had affected their plans.

To read UCL’s report, visit here.

To read our response from David Atkinson, visit here.