Many new build homes may not meet standards required for social housing

Many thousands of surplus new build homes in England are being rejected by housing associations because they are not of a high enough standard a report by the BBC revealed.

There are around 4.5million people on housing waiting lists and the government has set up the Clearing House Fund to help housing associations in England buy some of the surplus housing stock that private developers fail to sell.It is estimated there could be as many as 100,000 unsold new-build homes in the UK.

Associations across England have already bought about about 5,000 homes and have funding to buy the same again but have find that a large number are not up to standard.

Gavin Smart, of the National Housing Federation said: "It's very hard to put a number on homes we are rejecting...But it would be a significant proportion because private developers simply do not have to build to the same standards as housing associations...Many of the homes that we are being offered would not meet those standards and quite sensibly housing associations looking at those homes are saying they are not of a suitable quality for them to purchase."

In order to be accepted by housing associations, developments have to meet high environmental standards, as well as being built to high specifications and to a minimum size.The UK builds the smallest homes in the developed world.

Private developers say there is nothing wrong with their properties, pointing out they are built for a different market and that private homes do not yet have to meet the same standards as those built for social housing.

Both the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Chartered Institute of Housing believe the government should force all builds to have higher minimum standards.