Housing approvals in England have dropped to their lowest level in 14 years. According to the latest Housing Pipeline Report from the Home Builders Federation (HBF), published on 30 September 2026, just 45,315 homes received permission between April and June, the weakest quarterly total since 2012, The Architects’ Journal reports.
That figure is 21 percent lower than in the first quarter of the year. Across the UK as a whole, approvals fell by 18 percent over the same period. The HBF adds that the number of homes approved in England in the 12 months to June 2026 is the lowest for any 12-month period since 2013.
Far short of the national target
In the year to date, 214,315 homes have been granted permission across the UK, only 58 percent of the government’s target of 370,000 approvals a year. That figure comes from the most recent version of the National Planning Policy Framework and is the level considered necessary to deliver 300,000 new homes annually.
Larger schemes have been hit hardest. Approvals for homes on sites of more than 10 units fell 21 percent across the UK compared with the previous quarter, while schemes of three or more homes received only 1,234 approvals, a quarterly low never seen before in the data. Social and private housing both declined: social homes fell 33 percent between January and June 2026 and private homes 17 percent, although the number of social housing projects rose 1 percent in the second quarter and is up 20 percent on a year earlier.
Why the pipeline is shrinking
The report blames weak effective demand, limited access to affordable mortgages and subdued market conditions, which reduce developers’ confidence and ability to invest in new sites. It also points to taxes, levies and policy requirements that are squeezing viability. The Building Safety Levy, due to take effect next month, has already pushed 36 percent of SME housebuilders to postpone, rework or drop projects, based on a survey the HBF quotes.
HBF chief executive Neil Jefferson said the pipeline is being squeezed to historically low levels and welcomed a new first-time buyer support scheme, while warning it must work for buyers and builders of all sizes. David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, said demand-side measures should help but that the government needs to look at the overall cost burden on development if it wants to meet its 1.5 million homes ambition.
The drop comes even though applications have held up. Earlier data reported by the AJ showed that, in the 12 months to the second quarter of 2026, net-gain housing submissions passed 400,000 units for the first time since 2022. For architects, the RIBA Workload Index fell from +4 in July to +1 in August, with private housing the weakest sector.
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