Council closes in on ‘ambitious’ 2026 social housing goal

Plans for new developments at Hoxton’s Cropley Court. Photograph: Hackney Council

Hackney Council has rubber-stamped plans for over 100 new social rent homes in a bid to meet “ambitious” housebuilding targets this year.

The council is nearing its goal of having 1,000 social homes “in one stage of delivery or another” by 2026 as it gave approval this week for 136 new properties in Hoxton and Haggerston. The majority (104) will be at social rent.

All of the new homes will be built on four existing council estates: Cropley Court, Buckland Court, Weymouth Court and Fellows Court. Tenants and leaseholders in Fellows Court have repeatedly drawn attention to disrepair in their homes.

No official start date is confirmed, but council reports state that construction is set to begin in the spring – at which point the council will have put “spades in the ground” for 972 new social rent homes, in the words of Mayor Caroline Woodley.

In 2022, former Mayor Philip Glanville pledged that the council would start work on 1,000 new homes at social rent by 2026. His successor, Mayor Woodley, kept this commitment.

Early designs for new developments at Hoxton’s Fellows Court. Photograph: Hackney Council

Data released in January 2026 revealed that housebuilding starts fell by 84 per cent in London since 2015 despite the capital’s chronic housing shortage. Several build projects in Hackney, such as Lincoln Court, have stalled amid spiralling construction costs.

The latest tranche of housing in Hackney comes after the council announced in January that it had secured funding for 400 new homes across the borough, of which “at least” three quarters will be available at social rent.

To shore up delivery, on Monday (March 23) the council invoked powers introduced in 2016 to shield the developments from potential legal action.

Under Section 203 of the Housing and Planning Act, councils are allowed to block residents from using injunctions to slow or halt projects which impinge on private property rights, such as if new builds would result in them losing daylight into the homes.

The council’s stated aim is to mitigate the “significant” financial risk attached to legal claims. The local authority argues “severe delays” resulting from legal action would threaten developments.

Residents who stand to lose their private property entitlements will still be able to claim compensation. The council has budgeted for these potential claims, which it expects will be “minimal”.