New English Rural report busts myth that rural affordable housing costs more to manage

A new report has challenged the long-standing belief that affordable rural housing is too expensive to manage, finding instead that rural housing associations often outperform the wider sector on costs, tenant satisfaction and financial performance.

The report, No More Excuses: Affordable Rural Housing Works, published by English Rural and Acuity Research and Practice, analysed data from 145 housing associations across England. It found 44% lower management costs, the average cost of managing a rural home was £469 per property compared with £842 across the sector, while overall operating margins for rural providers were almost double the national average.

The report also found rural providers received significantly fewer complaints, had lower rent arrears and re-let homes much faster than the wider sector. Tenant satisfaction stood at 87.6% compared with 79.6% nationally. The report concluded that rurality itself does not increase management costs and warned that misconceptions about affordability have held back investment in village communities for decades.

The report also highlights the scale of unmet need in rural England, where more than 300,000 people are on social housing waiting lists, despite only 7% of affordable homes being delivered in settlements with fewer than 3,000 residents. The report argues that affordable housing is essential to sustaining rural communities, supporting schools, local businesses and key workers.

English Rural's chief executive, Martin Collett, said the findings should help shift the debate "from perception to proof". The report calls on government, local authorities and housing providers to create clearer funding routes for small rural schemes, simplify planning rules for rural exception sites, protect support for rural housing enablers and ensure rural communities are properly reflected in future devolution and housing policy decisions.