Today (Wednesday 12 June), the Green Party launched its manifesto for the General Election. It includes a central pledge to build 150,000 new social homes every year. The party proposes to do this through building new homes, purchasing and refurbishing older housing stock and ending the individual ‘right to buy’ programme.

The manifesto also proposes a ‘fair deal’ for renters, which includes rent control powers for local authorities, an end to no-fault evictions and ‘private residential tenancy boards’ to provide a forum for resolving disputes.

Responding to the manifesto, Matt Downie, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: "It’s promising to see the Green Party put housing, and specifically social housing, at the centre of its manifesto. For too long we have been selling off or demolishing social homes without replacing them, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without a secure place to call home. Providing 150,000 new social homes per year via new building and repurposing older properties would set us on a path to ending homelessness.

“At the same time, we work with many people whose homelessness is hidden, and the numbers of people being forced to sleep on the streets are again rising. We need all parties to acknowledge the scale of the crisis, and show that they have a comprehensive, cross-government plan for ending all forms of homelessness.”