Research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has found this includes £6.6bn from Section 106 agreements and over £2.2bn raised through the Community Infrastructure Levy.

These findings are based on responses from 243 local authorities in England and Wales.

Of this amount, £3bn has been held for over five years despite many agreements requiring these funds to be used within that timeframe.

The average council holds £19m in unspent Section 106 infrastructure contributions and £13.9m in unspent Community Infrastructure Levy funds.

The HBF found this to be particularly acute in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, which alone has over £250m in unspent developer contributions.

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Overall, the £9bn figure is 9% — or £800m —  more than the unspent developer contributions calculated when the HBF last carried out this research in mid-2024.

This means over £700m in funding for affordable housing is waiting to be spent, with £2bn for schools.

“The underutilisation of developer contributions is a damning indictment on the ability of local councils to deliver to their communities,” said Neil Jefferson, CEO at the HBF.

“Urgent action is needed to ensure this money is spent promptly, supporting communities, improving local services, and driving growth.

“New homes should be providing benefits for both new and existing residents, but the ongoing failure of local government to use this money is undermining support for new housing and threatens the government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes this parliament.”