Both quarterly and yearly planning permissions fell to a “new low” in the second quarter of 2026, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF), underlining the need for a government-supported home ownership scheme as recently announced, HBF said. The latest Housing Pipeline report, based on Glenigan data, shows a 21% drop in the number of new homes receiving planning consent in the last quarter. At 45,315, the number of homes granted permission in England in Q2 2026 is, according to the report, the lowest quarterly total since 2012.