Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) A Managers Guide (2026)

What is Refreshed in 2026?

The HNDA Tool and all three HNDA guides have been refreshed but the approach and process remain largely the same.

The main changes include:

• updated data inputted to the HNDA Tool for household projections, existing housing need (HoTOC), house prices, rent prices and incomes
• all income and house price scenarios and economic assumptions have been updated based on the latest economic outlook
• some clarification about the estimation of existing housing need
• new accessible format applied to each HNDA guide
• the Specialist Provision section includes two additional categories of care and support needs for children living in poverty and homeless households or those at risk of homelessness. Key workers have also been included.
• additional guidance on HNDAs in rural and island areas
• more focus on empty homes, second homes and short-term lets
• providing more information on quality assurance
• core output one includes some additional items which are indicated in the text below;

“Core Output One - Identifies key factors driving the local housing market [new text follows] and explains what each of them may mean for the future of housing in the area and in terms of what scenarios may be chosen to run in the HNDA Tool”

• Core output four has some additional items which are shown in the text below;

“stock should be considered by size, type, condition, occupancy (overcrowding and under-occupancy), concealed families and turnover (re-lets and voids), tenure and location. [New text follows] Empty homes, second homes and short-term lets should also be included. Show the amount of home ownership in the area in the context of the various routes/ schemes into home ownership. Show the amount of affordable housing in the area by the different type of affordable housing”

• the use of time series has also been added to the core outputs
• some guidance on using sensitivity testing when deciding which variables to use in HNDA Tool before the final scenarios are chosen by authorities