Development and acquisition of homes by council
Case reference FOI2026/01675
Received 15 July 2026
Published 13 August 2026
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information. These questions relate to homes built or developed or acquired by the council, not by others. It relates to all tenures of housing, not just council housing (for example, some councils will be building homes for market sale, private rent, either directly or via a housing company).
1) In the 2025/26 financial year (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) how many new build homes of any tenure did the council complete? This question refers to any new homes developed by the council or bought new build. It does not refer to "second hand" homes.
1) a) Please can you provide a breakdown of the tenure of these new build completions (for example, how many were social rent, shared ownership, market sale, temporary accommodation, etc)?
2) If the council has a council-owned housing company, in the 2025/26 financial year (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) how many new homes of any tenure did the company complete? As above this refers to any new build homes developed or acquired by the council.
2) a) Please can you provide a breakdown of those completions, by tenure (for example, how many were social rent, shared ownership, market sale, temporary accommodation, etc)?
3) In the 2025/26 financial year (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026), in total how many 'second-hand' (meaning not a new build) homes did the council acquire? (If some/all of these homes were bought by a council-owned housing company, please can you let me know and break down how many this applies to).
4) How many of these were buy backs of homes formerly sold under the Right to Buy? (If some/all of these homes were bought by a council-owned housing company, please can you let me know and break down how many this applies to).
5) Please can you provide a breakdown of how these "second hand" homes have subsequently been relet – e.g., how many have been relet at council/social rent? How many at affordable or London affordable rent? Have any been turned into temporary accommodation? Or otherwise used (perhaps renovated or demolished as part of a regen project?)
6) How many new homes does the Council expect to build/acquire in the next five years (ie, from April 2026-March 2031)?
7) If the Council has a Council-owned housing company, how many new homes does it expect to build/in the next five years (April 2026-March 2031)? 8) How many second hand homes does the Council expect to acquire in five years (ie, from April 2026-March 2031)?
Response
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I would like to request the following information.
These questions relate to homes built or developed or acquired by the council, not by others. It relates to all tenures of housing, not just council housing (for example, some councils will be building homes for market sale, private rent, either directly or via a housing company).
1) In the 2025/26 financial year (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) how many new build homes of any tenure did the council complete? This question refers to any new homes developed by the council or bought new build. It does not refer to "second hand" homes.
Answer: Zero.
1) a) Please can you provide a breakdown of the tenure of these new build completions (for example, how many were social rent, shared ownership, market sale, temporary accommodation, etc)?
Answer: Not appliable.
2) If the council has a council-owned housing company, in the 2025/26 financial year (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026) how many new homes of any tenure did the company complete? As above this refers to any new build homes developed or acquired by the council.
Answer: Herefordshire Council does not have a council-owned housing company.
2) a) Please can you provide a breakdown of those completions, by tenure (for example, how many were social rent, shared ownership, market sale, temporary accommodation, etc)?
Answer: Not applicable.
3) In the 2025/26 financial year (1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026), in total how many 'second-hand' (meaning not a new build) homes did the council acquire? (If some/all of these homes were bought by a council-owned housing company, please can you let me know and break down how many this applies to).
Answer: Two. These properties were purchased by the council.
4) How many of these were buy backs of homes formerly sold under the Right to Buy? (If some/all of these homes were bought by a council-owned housing company, please can you let me know and break down how many this applies to).
Answer: Zero.
5) Please can you provide a breakdown of how these "second hand" homes have subsequently been relet – e.g., how many have been relet at council/social rent? How many at affordable or London affordable rent? Have any been turned into temporary accommodation? Or otherwise used (perhaps renovated or demolished as part of a regen project?)
Answer: One unit will provide overnight short breaks to be used by Children’s Services. The second will be used for temporary accommodation to meet duties owed under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996.
6) How many new homes does the Council expect to build/acquire in the next five years (ie, from April 2026-March 2031)?
Answer: Zero.
7) If the Council has a Council-owned housing company, how many new homes does it expect to build/in the next five years (April 2026-March 2031)?
Answer: This is not applicable.
8) How many second hand homes does the Council expect to acquire in five years (ie, from April 2026-March 2031)?
Answer: The Council invests in transitional and temporary accommodation as and when funding allows. We do not have a 5-year forecast but can confirm that we have LAHF funding for the purchase of 5 units of temporary accommodation and a modest capital budget for the purchase of accommodation for vulnerable groups over the next 3 years based on an invest to save model.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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