Housing developers are using a legal loophole to dodge building affordable homes across the countryside, according to data analysed together for the first time by Shelter and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

Looking at eight rural councils over one year, the analysis claims half the affordable homes councils were required to build were lost when viability assessments were used.

Developers use ’viability assessments’ to argue that building affordable homes could reduce their profits to below around 20%, which gives them the right to cut their affordable housing quota.

Developments provided 1,675 homes in Cornwall, of which 40% were required to be affordable. However, the organisations say developers used the ‘viability loophole’ to reduce their quota by more than a third (35%) – depriving residents of 232 affordable homes.