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The number of new homes granted planning approval in the UK during the first three months of this year was the lowest in 13 years.
Only 39,170 homes were approved in the first quarter of 2025 in the UK, 55% lower than last three months and 32% lower than the same period last year, according to new figures created for the Federation of Home Builders.
HBF data is expected to be released later in the year and tends to expect official figures.
Neil Jefferson, CEO of HBF, said the figures were “disastrous” for both the industry and the government’s ambitions to increase new housing supply.
“With the current supply flatline and homes being built over the next few years, there seems to be little chance of building a home that we know is desperately needed unless there is an emergency intervention,” he said.
Jefferson added that the minister must address the lack of affordable mortgage lending and the absence “for the first time in decades of government support schemes for first-time buyers.”
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The priorities have built 1.5 million new homes in the UK during the last five years of Parliament, one of his important pledges, equivalent to 300,000 new homes a year.
However, HBF data suggest that the annual rolling figure for housing units ensuring detailed planning approval was 225,067 until the end of March, down 7% over the past 12 months.
This is the lowest annual figure since 2012, far below the highest 335,802 hits in early 2021.
However, Labour has expressed hope that development into the planning system can be promoted through various reforms.
Last year, the government rewrites the “National Planning Policy Framework” to reimpose council housing goals and is now pushing for planning and infrastructure bills through Parliament.
Jefferson of HBF called on the government to take action to stimulate more demand for new homes, including regaining support for stock and coalition mortgages and eased support for stock and coalition mortgages for property developers to build public infrastructure such as schools, GP surgeries and roads needed for projects.
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He also warned that home builders struggle under a variety of taxes and taxation introduced in recent years, including the residential real estate developer tax, nutrition neutrality fees and the “Future Homes Standard,” which forces builders to add solar panels.
The Royal Facility of Certified Surveyors, a trade association, said resource constraints in local planning authorities and the capacity challenges of utility providers “create friction in the system.”
“The key elements of the industry are clear,” said Justin Young, RICS CEO. “Reforming the framework of national planning policy remains bedding in the sector, and uncertainty is part of the reason for slowing down applications.”
The UK Real Estate Federation, which has several members in the residential housing sector, said “significant” delays in building safety regulators are causing blockages due to lack of staff.
“These numbers aren’t surprising to us,” said Rachel Kelly, BPF policy director. “An application that should take 8-12 weeks will take 24 weeks, and even up to a year will need to be finalized. Regulatory delays are the biggest barrier to the moment.”
Matthew Spry, senior director of Lichfields’ planning and development consulting firm, said the industry has welcomed government planning reforms.
“However, moving the dial during delivery requires prompt decisions by local planning authorities. The government must implement current planning and infrastructure bills promptly.”
The Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government spokesman said: “We know that a 1.5mn home is a stretchable goal, but we are taking the crucial action to speed up every step of the planning process and provide the necessary home and infrastructure through planning for change.”
