POLITICAL parties must commit to building a new generation of social homes to end the housing emergency, according to a coalition of charities, businesses and campaigners.

An open letter with signatories including Grenfell United, The Health Foundation and Ikea is urging a “mass social housebuilding programme” for 90,000 new social homes.

It comes as new survey findings from Shelter suggested that almost three-quarters of social tenants said they could not afford to live in their local area without access to social housing.

The polling suggested that 69 per cent of parents said social housing had given their children a stable home, while 43 per cent of social tenants said it had meant they could live close to their support networks.

Shelter’s analysis of the latest government rent data showed that social rents are 64 per cent more affordable than private rents, with social tenants in England having to pay on average £828 less per month in rent than private tenants.

The letter said that the lack of social housing in Britain is “driving a housing emergency,” adding: “We need to build good-quality social homes again. So a new generation can be proud to say: We are made in social housing.

“Together, we are calling on all political parties to listen to the growing consensus across the country and build a new generation of social rent homes to end the housing emergency.”

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said: “The housing emergency has been wilfully ignored for too long. All the signs point to one solution and it’s the only one that works.

“Now that a general election has been called we cannot afford to waste any time. 

“All political parties must commit to building genuinely affordable social homes — we need 90,000 a year over 10 years to end the housing emergency for good.”