Half of affordable new homes in rural England could be at risk if planning rules relaxed, analysis shows

Half of all affordable housing supply in rural England could be under threat under plans being considered by ministers to relax regulations for private housing developers, according to analysis.The government has proposed ending affordable housing quotas – known as section 106 agreements – for new developments of between 10 and 49 houses in an effort to jumpstart sluggish housebuilding rates. Ministers are due to make a final decision within weeks on whether developers should be allowed to make cash payments to local authorities instead.Analysis of government figures by the National Housing Federation (NHF), however, suggests that in the most rural areas of England, more than half of all affordable homes are built on developments of this size.The organisation, which represents housing associations, warns that ending the requirement could cost the country 32,000 affordable homes over the next 10 years.Kate Henderson, the chief executive of the NHF, said: “Rural families are already in the most acute need of affordable homes, often priced out of the communities they call home, and these proposals risk making the rural housing crisis even worse.“This requirement for affordable homes on medium sites is one of the most important ways we have of ensuring affordable homes are being delivered in the most rural areas. Removing it could put half of future rural affordable housing at risk, leading to increased waiting lists, rising homelessness and staff shortages in local schools and business.”A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “No decisions have been taken on the future of section 106 agreements but we are committed to making the process simpler and more transparent, so we can get on and build the homes and infrastructure this country desperately needs.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionIn the absence of high rates of council housebuilding, section 106 agreements have become a vital source of affordable housing across the country, accounting for 36% of all affordable homes delivered in 2024-25.But ministers have become concerned in recent months that they are providing a hindrance to new building, with developers already struggling with high costs of finance and material. Experts also point out that cash-strapped housing associations are finding it difficult to buy homes that have been built under such arrangements.In London, ministers and the mayor, Sadiq Khan, have reduced the amount of affordable housing that developers have to build to qualify for fast-track planning status after rates of new housebuilding plummetted to just a few thousand units a year.Under the proposals being considered for medium-sized developments, housebuilders would be allowed to make payments to councils in lieu of including affordable homes in their proposals. That money would be earmarked to build affordable housing elsewhere.Ministers have been told not to work on big policy announcements before the next prime minister – who is overwhelmingly likely to be the Makerfield MP, Andy Burnham – is in place. But work is understood to be continuing on more technical changes such as this.A Burnham spokesperson would not comment on the proposals.