A new report, launched by the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations, has found that early engagement and genuine collaboration are essential for successful Section 106 (S106) agreements.
The report, named ‘Building Together, Building Better: Rethinking S106 for Affordable Housing Delivery’ is authored by L&Q and it outlines what social landlords need when acquiring homes from housebuilders, providing a practical framework for developers to work together with the affordable housing sector.
The report finds that affordable housing providers should be involved in decisions about new projects from early stages, ideally at pre-planning or land acquisition, enabling design of places which genuinely meet the long-term needs of all residents.
Fiona Fletcher-Smith, Chair of G15 and Chief Executive of L&Q, said: “As housing associations, our primary mission is to deliver high quality, affordable homes for those who are most in need. S106 agreements are a vital way of providing these, but often provided limited opportunities for social landlords to influence the design of these places or how they will be managed in the long-term.
“With over a million people on housing waiting lists, we urgently need more homes. This report sets out how private housebuilders and the affordable housing sector can work together to create places which truly enable people to live better lives.”
The report highlights that ongoing collaboration and transparency are essential, so if developers and their affordable housing partners work together throughout projects via regular meetings, it will enable shared decision making about specifications and components with site visits to monitor the delivery of homes.
Sarah Finnegan, Head of Policy at the National Housing Federation, said: “By collaborating at pre-planning stage, any concerns about the quality and design of these properties can be addressed from the outset and together developers and social landlords can get on with the vital task of delivering more social homes.”
In the past nearly half of all new affordable homes in the country have been delivered through S106 contracts between developers and housing associations, social landlords’ appetite for these agreements have been decreasing, as in December 2024 the HBF reported that more than 17,000 affordable homes in England and Wales were not being built because housing associations were not bidding for them.
Financial constraints, along with economic and regulatory challenges, are often given as excuses for the lack of homes being built, however, in 2024, Homes England launched the S106 Affordable Housing Clearing Service, revealing that social landlords are often declined homes due to concerns around tenure mix, location and delivery timings.
Tom Copley, the Deputy Mayor of London for Housing and Residential Development, said: “Delivering more high-quality, genuinely affordable housing across the capital is central to our mission to boost local economies and give Londoners the good, secure homes they deserve.
“It is vital that developers and housing associations work together to make the Section 106 process work and this report provides an important opportunity for further collaboration. The Mayor and I will continue to work closely with our partners across the sector to boost affordable housing delivery and create a better, fairer London for everyone.”
The full report can be read here: https://d39wcydd7c4iyq.cloudfront.net/S106-Guidance-Building-together-Building-better.pdf
