John Guest, national head of social housing at RSM, says that while the latest flatlining of GDP in April and rising unemployment rates will have mainly dampened activity in the private residential market, social housing is vulnerable to the knock-on effects of changes in the private housing market and an unstable economy.

He said: “Given recent challenges of high inflation and access to skilled labour, this has added further pressure on registered social landlords (RSLs) to improve the quality of housing while keeping rents as low as possible. Sector recovery is still fragile and RSLs need to be aware of how this instability impacts tenants and suppliers.

“The next [UK] government must therefore prioritise delivery of housing targets by focusing on inward investment and stimulating growth in the private and public housing sectors.

“Current legislation means that too many people are trapped in the rental market, which in turn is seeing rental prices soar and hindering economic growth, while also running the risk of pushing more people towards social housing, especially with rising unemployment rates. It’s a real supply and demand issue, so planning reform and labour upskilling is key to resolving this.”

He added: “However, there is some positive news on the horizon, with inflation expected to almost drop back to the Bank of England’s 2% target this week, which will allow real wages to rise rapidly for the rest of the year.

“This will help RSLs with managing material costs for routine maintenance, planned improvements and repair costs, as well as giving some respite to suppliers in construction.

“But, RSLs need to remain cautious as construction continues to experience the highest number of industry insolvencies, so appropriate due diligence is essential to avoid further fiscal constraints and support wider economic recover.”