The value of our social tenancies
Providing safe, secure and decent homes for those who need them most
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New research shows we saved local authorities at least £46.7m last year, by helping 6,500 people out of temporary accommodation and into a permanent home.
Importantly, we helped these people get their lives back on track, so they could contribute to their communities, the economy and society.
The latest Value of Social Tenancy (VoST) research shows the total value of our social tenancies in 2024/25 was £753m, or £31,703 per tenancy. This includes the value generated by building and maintaining homes; the ‘core’ social value of our social tenancies was at least £441m, or £18,561 per tenancy last year.
As well as saving local authorities millions of pounds in temporary accommodation costs, our social tenancies save money for a wide variety of public services and create £199m for the economy, as people living in social housing are more likely to have – and keep – a job.
Our tenancies saved the NHS an estimated £100m last year, because social tenants are healthier than those living in poorly maintained private rental homes; and saved the police and justice system £59m, as tenants are less likely to be involved in, or be victims of, crime. There are also savings for education sector, the Department for Work and Pensions; the fire service and banks and creditors.
“Unfortunately, for many people, a safe, secure and decent home is out of reach,” said Hyde’s Group Chief Executive Officer Andy Hulme.
“The government estimates that more than 130,000 households were living in temporary accommodation in 2024/25, including 172,000 children, costing local authorities £2.8bn.
“By providing permanent homes, we can not only improve people’s health and wellbeing, but also help them to settle in a place, find a job, for their children to go to school, to build local connections and feel part of their communities.”
One person we helped in 2024/25 was Peter, who was forced to live in a tent for a year after he left temporary accommodation.
Milton Keynes City Council approached us to find Peter a home and we worked quickly, securing him a flat in Northampton. We helped him move in and arranged for new household appliances through the Hyde Charitable Trust’s Helping Hand Fund.
Peter was struggling with his health because of the conditions he’d been living in, so finding a permanent home – even though it meant moving towns – was life-changing.
Peter said: “My new home is just what I’ve been looking for. I wanted to find somewhere to get on with my life. Finding such a peaceful home is a breath of fresh air.”
This year, for the second year running, we teamed up with other housing associations to work with our research company, Sonnet Advisory and Impact, to give a wider view of the value of social tenancies. The 160,000 social tenancies owned or managed by Hyde, MTVH, The Guinness Partnership, A2Dominion and Platform Housing, generated at least £4.8bn of social value in 2024/25.
And we estimate England’s social housing sector delivered at least £87bn last year for the country’s 4.3 million social homes. This includes:
- £18.5bn in savings to the NHS
- £9.8bn in savings to local authorities
- £2.4bn in savings to the Department of Work and Pensions.
“Once again, the VoST research shows that, by building more social housing, thereby giving more people access to safe, affordable and secure homes, we can deliver significant economic and social benefits and a great return on investment for government,” said Group Chief Executive Officer of the Hyde Group, Andy Hulme.
“It will also support our efforts to encourage government to support building more affordable homes and to encourage investors to fund and improve social homes.”
A summary of the social value of our tenancies can be downloaded here (PDF, 1.89MB)
Sonnet Advisory and Impact’s full report can be downloaded here (PDF, 643KB)