Manchester has delivered more new homes in a single year than all 32 Greater London boroughs combined, while also recording its strongest affordable housing performance for more than two decades.
A new update presented to the Council’s Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee revealed that 4,766 homes were completed across Manchester in the last year, surpassing the combined total of 4,261 homes built across London's 32 boroughs.
The figures represent another milestone in Manchester City Council's long-term Housing Strategy, which aims to deliver at least 36,000 homes by 2032, including 10,000 social, council and genuinely affordable homes.
The latest figures show that 901 affordable homes were completed during the year, marking the highest annual delivery of affordable housing in Manchester since the late 1990s.
Of those homes:
- 439 were for social rent
- 259 affordable homes were delivered in the city centre, the highest city-centre affordable housing output in Manchester's history
- 264 homes were three-bedroom properties or larger, helping tackle overcrowding and improve access to family-sized housing
The city is also outperforming national trends. While affordable housing starts have declined in many parts of the country, Manchester recorded a 12% increase compared with 2022/23.
Manchester remains firmly on course to achieve its 2032 housing ambitions.
Since 2022:
- 13,555 homes have been delivered
- More than 7,800 homes are currently under construction
- Around 20,000 homes have planning approval or are progressing through the pipeline
The affordable housing pipeline is also substantial, with:
- Around 4,000 affordable homes in development
- 1,450 under construction
- More than 2,000 approved through planning
- A further 690 awaiting planning decisions
The Council is targeting the delivery of 3,000 affordable homes within the city centre by 2032, helping create a more balanced and accessible residential market.
The Council's strategy is also contributing to an increase in owner occupation across the city.
Following the introduction of the Renters’ Rights legislation on 1 May, some landlords have chosen to exit the private rented sector. Data suggests that two-thirds of these property sales were purchased by owner-occupiers, resulting in an estimated 1,450 additional homeowners during the last year.
Manchester is also raising its environmental ambitions.
Half of all affordable homes delivered during 2025/26 were built to low-carbon or zero-carbon standards, and the Council has now committed to ensuring that 75% of affordable housing is low carbon by 2032.
Alongside new housing delivery, Manchester is maximising the use of existing housing stock.
Since the creation of a dedicated Empty Homes Team in 2024, approximately 600 vacant properties have been returned to use, helping boost housing supply without requiring new development.
The Council has also expanded its "right-sizing" programme, which offers residents in larger social housing properties a £2,500 incentive to move to homes that better suit their needs.
Over the past two years:
- 195 larger family homes have been freed up
- The Council aims to facilitate 250 further moves within the next year
These initiatives, combined with increased affordable housing delivery, have contributed to a reduction in housing pressures across the city.
Manchester has recorded a notable reduction in demand for social housing, with the housing register falling by 2,000 households over the past six months.
The city has also bucked another national trend, becoming the only UK Core City to reduce temporary accommodation placements since 2022, while virtually eliminating the need for bed-and-breakfast accommodation for families.
Manchester's housing programme is increasingly being viewed as a model for major urban authorities seeking to balance rapid growth with affordable housing delivery. Through a combination of council-led intervention, partnerships with housing providers, grant funding and the use of brownfield land, the city has continued to accelerate supply against a challenging national backdrop.
Councillor Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration, said:
"We set out to be ambitious with how we are delivering new housing for our residents because we know how important a decent, secure and safe home is for the success of Manchester people.
“Building genuinely affordable homes remains incredibly challenging but we continue to buck the national trend and we are seeing more new affordable homes built now than at any point this century – and to have built the homes we have year-on-year is testament to our vision to deliver for our residents.
“We have done housing differently. We aren’t solely reliant on private developers to deliver social and affordable housing. We are ramping up delivery by working closely with our housing partners, by accessing grant funding and using Council-owned brownfield land to deliver the homes we need. And the results speak for themselves.”
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