The Church of England wants to help solve the housing crisis
But building things in Britain is never straightforward
Britain has a housing problem. There are too few houses to meet demand, and those that do exist are unaffordable for many. On June 9th Boris Johnson sketched out proposals to allow people to use benefits payments to pay for mortgages and to give tenants in housing associations (private, non-profit organisations regulated by the government) the right to buy their properties. They do nothing to tackle the big problem: many more houses need to be built. Even if you are one of Britain’s biggest landowners, that is easier said than done.
The Church of England has around 200,000 acres (80,000 hectares) under its control. In 2021 an independent housing commission set up by the church published a report arguing that it should use its land to build more affordable homes. Last month the church announced that it would set up a housing association with the aim of becoming “a major provider of social housing” nationally. But a host of temporal obstacles stand in its way.
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