Analysis of affordable housing need

Housing Register applications

Table 1.1 Households on the housing register by band and property need on 1 April 2024.

Band 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed 5 bed 6 bed Total
A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B 103 17 69 110 44 18 361
C 355 247 279 89 14 5 989
D 343 43 7 0 0 0 393
Total 801 307 355 199 58 23 1743

The number of households on the housing register has fallen in the last year from 1,900 to 1,743. 

The greatest fall in applications is for 1-bed properties. Demand for 4-bed properties has increased slightly compared to a year ago. 

Table 1.2 Property size breakdown of households on the housing register.

Property size Proportion of total applicants Proportion of high need applicants
1 Bed 46% 28%
2 Bed 18% 5%
3 Bed 20% 19%
4+ Bed 16% 48%

Applicants needing 1 and 2-bed properties make up 64% of households on the housing register. Applicants requiring 3 and 4-bed properties make up 36% of applicants.

67% of applicants in the highest level of assessed need (bands A or B) require a larger property of 3 or more bedrooms.

Most applicants who need a smaller property have a lower priority for rehousing.

Table 1.3 Proportion of households in a high priority housing band for each property size.

Property size Proportion of applicants with a high assessed need
1 Bed 13%
2 Bed 6%
3 Bed 19%
4+ Bed 55%

55% of applicants needing a 4-bed property have a high assessed housing need which places them in a high priority band.

Properties let

Table 2.1 All properties let (existing and new build) April 2023 to March 2024.

Property Type Number let
General Needs 398
Sheltered 105
Total 503

A total of 503 properties were let during the year.  General needs properties accounted for 398 of these. The other 105 were sheltered, 1 and 2-bed properties for older people.

The figures show a significant increase compared to the previous year (232).  This was partly due to a large number of new affordable homes at Amber House and work to tackle a backlog of repairs to void properties.

Data recording delays meant that some lets from the previous year were not counted until 2023 to 2024.  

Future lets are expected to return to previous levels.

Table 2.2 General needs properties let April 2023 to March 2024.

Property size Number let
Studio 24
1 Bed 155
2 Bed 164
3 Bed 50
4 Bed 5
Total 398

Among the general need properties becoming available to let, 86% were 1 and 2-bed properties. These included studios.

Five 4-bed properties, which were all relets, also became available. This is above average compared to previous years.

Availability of homes for rent

Table 3.1 Supply and demand of properties for rent April 2023 to March 2024.

Property size All properties let Number on the waiting list Ratio of households to properties let
1 Bed 236 801 3.4
2 Bed 212 307 1.5
3 Bed 50 355 7.1
4 bed 5 199 39.8

The greatest supply of properties, relative to demand, is 2-beds. There was an average of 1.5 households for each 2-bed property becoming available last year.  The demand for 1-bed properties is also matched by a relatively high level of supply.

For 4-bed properties, only 5 properties became available for nearly 200 households. This means there were 40 households for every 4-bed property let.

Waiting times

Table 4.1 Average rehousing times April 2023 to March 2024.

Property size Average of Months Average of Years
1 Bed 17 1.4
2 Bed 30 2.5
3 Bed 59 4.9
4 bed 95 7.9

Rehousing times for larger properties are considerably longer than for smaller properties. This is due to a much higher supply of smaller properties. 

The average rehousing time for a 3-bed property is nearly 5 years, and nearly 8 years for a 4-bed property. 

Wheelchair accessible and adaptable homes

Table 5.1 Current demand for wheelchair accessible and adaptable homes (June 2024).

Property size Number of households
1 Bed 5
2 Bed 2
3 Bed 3
4 Bed 1

Currently there are 11 households on the special needs register. However, this data regularly changes.

There is an ongoing demand for 1-bed, wheelchair-adaptable homes for social and affordable rent. This justifies a requirement for wheelchair-accessible homes to be fully fitted.

There is a lower but ongoing need for 2, 3 and 4-bed wheelchair-accessible homes. These should generally be provided as wheelchair-adaptable units. Where a specific need has been identified, a fully wheelchair-accessible home may be sought.

Table 5.2 Number of Wheelchair adapted units completed by year.

Year 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed
2019 to 2020 0 1 - Sandhurst 0
2020 to 2021 0 1 - Warfield 0
2021 to 2022 3 - Binfield 0 0
2022 to 2023 0 0 0
2023 to 2024 3 0 1

There are currently 5 wheelchair units forecast for completion across the borough in 2024 to 2025. 

Four are 3-bed properties in Bracknell and the other is a 1-bed property in Warfield.

New affordable rented homes

Table 6.1 Number of affordable rented homes completed by year.

Year Affordable homes for rent 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed
2019 to 2020 106 41 53 12 0
2020 to 2021 53 17 32 4 0
2021 to 2022 80 23 48 8 1
2022 to 2023 33 10 17 6 0
2023 to 2024 117 58 55 4 0

A total of 389 affordable rented homes have been completed in the last 5 years. Of these 91% were 1 and 2-beds. Three and 4-bed homes account for only 9% of affordable rented completions.

The demand for affordable homes for rent is spread evenly across the borough. Development of larger 3 and 4-bed family homes should be prioritised on greenfield and suburban sites. These sites have more scope for providing houses compared to town centre sites.

Table 6.2 Number of affordable rented homes by tenure completed by year.

Year Social rent Affordable rent Total rented
2019 to 2020 0 106 106
2020 to 2021 0 53 53
2021 to 2022 0 80 80
2022 to 2023 3 30 33
2023 to 2024 64 53 117

Most rented homes constructed over this period have been let at affordable rents. Social rented homes which are more affordable accounted for a larger proportion last year.

New intermediate homes

Table 7.1 Number of intermediate homes completed by year.

Year Intermediate homes 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed
2019 to 2020 50 31 16 3 0
2020 to 2021 54 15 28 11 0
2021 to 2022 37 5 19 13 0
2022 to 2023 19 0 11 6 2
2023 to 2024 150 49 96 5 0

In total, 310 intermediate shared ownership homes have been completed in the last 5 years. Of these:

  • 32% were 1-bed
  • 55% were 2-beds
  • 12% were 3-beds

The greatest need for shared ownership housing is in the Bracknell town area. On greenfield and suburban sites, the priority for shared ownership housing is for 2, 3 and a small number of 4-bedroom houses. There is low demand for 1 and 2-bedroom flats in these locations.

Registered providers have indicated the following requirements for shared ownership homes:

  • 1 and 2-bed flats, close to Bracknell or other urban settlements in Bracknell Forest
  • a high demand for 2 and 3-bed houses
  • flats should have outside space – access to garden or good size private balconies (at least 5 metre square, with minimum depth of 1.5 metres)

Affordable housing mix

The tables below show indicative targets for different sized properties for affordable housing. These were modelled in the housing needs assessment produced for us by Iceni in 2021.

Table 8.1 Property sizes required by tenure.

Tenure 1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom 4 bedroom
Affordable Rent 30-35% 30-35% 20-25% 10-15%
Affordable Home Ownership 25% 40% 25% 10%

30-40% of the need for affordable rented homes over the Local Plan period (up to 2037) is for 3 and 4-bedroom properties. 65% of need for affordable home ownership is for 1 and 2-bedroom homes.

Analysis of demand on the housing register and the available supply of properties shows a severe shortage of larger family homes. This is particularly acute for 4-bed properties due to the lack of new supply in recent years.

Current demand for 4-bed shared ownership properties appears to be low. The priority for new larger homes is for social and affordable rented housing, rather than affordable home ownership.

The housing mix targets for affordable housing have therefore been updated as shown below.

Table 8.2. Updated borough-wide indicative affordable housing mix targets.

Tenure 1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom 4 bedroom
Affordable Rent 30% 30% 25% 15%
Affordable Home Ownership 30% 50% 15% 5%

To achieve the targets for larger homes, 3 and 4-bed properties should be increased, particularly on greenfield sites. These sites favour the development of family houses, including 2-bed houses, rather than flats.

By contrast, there is limited scope for developing larger homes in Bracknell town centre. Here, development is more likely to be flats rather than houses.

Table 8.3. Indicative affordable housing mix targets on greenfield sites.

Tenure 1 bedroom 2 bedroom 3 bedroom 4 bedroom
Affordable Rent 10% 40% 35% 15%
Affordable Home Ownership 25% 50% 20% 5%

Affordability

Table 9.1 Affordable and social rent levels.

Property size LHA rate* Typical social rent
1 bed flat £195.62 £125 plus service charge
2 bed flat £252 £145 plus service charge
3 bed house £299.18 £165
4 bed house £380.65 £185

*Local Housing Allowance based on Reading BRMA.

Affordable rents are set at 80% of the local market rent inclusive of service charges. Where this exceeds the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate for the area and property size, rents should be capped at this level. This means that, in many cases, affordable rents are charged at the LHA rate.

Market and affordable rents are becoming unaffordable for many low-income households. Table 9.1 shows that affordable rent levels based on latest LHA rates are now significantly higher than social rents. This is especially true for larger property sizes where the disparity in rent levels is greatest, and the rents are least affordable.

In future, the priority is to increase the number of 3 and 4-bedroom properties at social rent levels rather than at affordable rents. This will make sure that rents remain affordable for low-income households.