The number of new homes being granted planning permission has fallen to its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
Just 269,000 homes were approved in the year to March, a fall of more than 10%.
However, it is feared that this will fall even further, to just 156,000 a year, due to the recent decision to scrap mandatory housebuilding targets.
The government’s target is to build 300,000 homes a year.
The latest official figures reveal that in the first quarter of this year local authorities granted 75,000 decisions, down 11% from the same quarter a year earlier.
