The need for affordable housing is a key issue in many rural areas. An estimated 10,000 new affordable homes are needed each year for the next ten years to meet projected demand.

This report acknowledges that building new affordable housing offers the greatest value for money in terms of solving the lack of affordable housing in rural areas, but argues that making the most of existing rural housing stock is also worthwhile. It highlights approaches taken in a number of areas which have increased the use of existing rural properties and makes a number of recommendations for maximising the use of existing rural housing stock.