The Regulator of Social Housing has today (Tuesday 3 June 2025) published the results of its latest quarterly survey of private registered providers’ financial health.
Providers continued to build and acquire much-needed new social homes, spending £13.6bn in the 12 months to March 2025. This compares to £14.4 billion in the year to March 2024.
Over the next year, providers plan to spend a further £14.8bn on development, of which £10.7bn is committed.
This comes as housing associations continue to invest record amounts in existing stock. 12-month spend on repairs and maintenance totalled £9.0 billion, a 13% increase on the previous year, and the forecast spend for the next 12 months also increased to a record £9.9 billion.
Lending to the sector remains strong, with £4.3 billion of new finance arranged in the quarter, the second highest level in almost five years.
Available liquidity increased to the highest level in two years, as both undrawn facilities and cash balances increased in the quarter. The level of cash and undrawn facilities would be sufficient to cover the sector’s forecast expenditure on net interest costs (£4.6 billion), loan repayments (£3.5 billion) and net development for the next year (£12.6 billion), even if no new debt facilities were arranged and no sales income were to be received.
The investment in existing and new homes alongside increased debt levels means that the level of aggregate cash interest cover (excluding sales) stood at 82% for the 12 months to March 2025, consistent with the previous quarter, and is forecast to remain restricted at an estimated 65% for the next year.
75 providers (38%) anticipate reporting an impairment charge in their 2024/25 accounts. This compares to 66 (33%) in 2023/24 and 54 (27%) in 2022/23.
The total anticipated impairment charge is £407 million, of which £276 million relates to social housing assets.
Will Perry, Director of Strategy at RSH, said
Landlords are continuing to build new homes for the future, although spend was lower this quarter as landlords invest record amounts on existing homes. These major investments to improve fire safety, damp and mould as well as other issues are vital for keeping tenants safe in their homes.
Landlords continue to make trade-offs in response to financial pressures but investor confidence remains strong and we will continue to support this through our regulation, including these surveys, as well as our inspections and stability check programme.”
Notes to editors
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The report is based on the financial regulatory returns from 200 private registered providers (housing associations and other private registered providers, including for-profits), who own or manage more than 1,000 homes.
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Through its annual stability checks, RSH considers whether each provider’s current viability grade is consistent with the information contained in their regulatory returns. RSH focuses on indicators of financial robustness and evidence of any significant changes in risk profile.
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RSH promotes a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver more and better social homes. It does this by setting standards and carrying out robust regulation focusing on driving improvement in social landlords, including local authorities, and ensuring that housing associations are well-governed, financially viable and offer value for money. It takes appropriate action if the outcomes of the standards are not being delivered.
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