Three councils have revealed the exact number of homes built in the area within the last five years.

We asked Watford, Hertsmere, and Three Rivers to tell us just how many homes have been approved by its planning committees within the last five years – but also how many have built.

We also asked how many of these homes met the “affordable” criteria.

Housing is a hot topic at the moment with people in Three Rivers and Hertsmere having their say on potential sites for housing development as part of the local plan,

Since 2015, Watford Borough Council has granted permission to build 2,470 new homes. Notable applications include 400 as part of the Riverwell scheme, 500 in Sydney Road, and around 500 in Ascot Road.

Of these 2,470 approved homes, 920 have been built. Of the 2,470 approved homes, 726 are affordable.

Hertsmere have not provided a figure of how many homes it has approved but between April 2014 and April 2018, 1,343 private homes were built in addition to 136 affordable homes.

There is currently 815 homes under construction in the borough.

While in Three Rivers, between April 2015 and April 2018, 623 homes have been built in addition to 175 affordable homes.

Thousands of new homes need to be built across the three boroughs. Hertsmere and Three Rivers currently have a target of around 500 homes over the next ten to 15 years while Watford has been given a higher figure of around 700 homes.

Watford Borough Council has backed plans for around 3,000 homes in St Albans Road near Watford Junction while planners in Hertsmere and Three Rivers are currently looking at feedback to decide where is most suitable for development.

Each council has a 35 per cent affordable homes policy which applies to applications of ten homes or more. The term affordable is often banded about loosely and can be split into several definitions including social rent, affordable rent, and shared ownership.

An affordable home is one that is rented or is for sale at less than private market rents or prices. But it gets more complicated than this because the government has several definitions for affordable housing. These are:

• social rented housing – rents are up to 40 per cent less than local private rents.

• affordable rent housing – rents are up to 20 per cent less than local private rents. They are also owned by local housing associations and let to people on the council’s Housing Register

• shared ownership – housing that you buy part of and rent part of at rates lower than market prices for similar homes

• intermediate rent housing - rents are more than those charged for social rented homes but are less than local private rents. They are usually let directly by housing associations.

You can find more detail on gov.uk/guidance/definitions-of-general-housing-terms