Angela Rayner set to set out more details tomorrow of the new programme, along with updates on Decent Homes 2, minimum energy efficiency standards and reforms to Right to Buy

The government wants to build 300,000 new homes through its new £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP), more than half of which will be let at social rent.

The scheme, which will run for 10 years, will succeed the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP), which aimed to deliver up to 180,000 affordable homes over five years through £12.3bn of funding. However, the AHP undershot and its targets were revised down to 110,000-130,000 in July 2024.

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Source: MHCLG / Flickr

Housing secretary Angela Rayner

The government, in a short press statement tonight, said housing secretary Angela Rayner’s new programme will set a target of delivering 60% of homes for social rent, equivalent to 180,000 homes. This is up from around a third expected under the 2021/26 programme.

The statement did not say what the remaining 40% will consist of, but previous AHPs have also included homes for affordable rent and shared ownership. The figures provided by the government tonight imply an overall average grant rate acorss of all tenures of £130,000 per unit.

The government will tomorrow publish a  ‘long term plan’ called “Delivering a Decade of Renewal for Social and Affordable Housing”. This will set out more details about how the government intends to deliver its targets on social and affordable housing while improving safety and quality.

This will include an update to the Decent Homes Standard, which will be extended to privately rented homes for the first time, as well as the introduction of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for the first time in the social housing sector. 

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government plans to seek further views on both these matters.

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The plan will also set out changes to Right to Buy, following a previous consultation on measures designed to ensure fewer council homes are sold off.

“We are seizing this golden opportunity with both hands to transform this country by building the social and affordable homes we need, so we create a brighter future where families aren’t trapped in temporary accommodation and young people are no longer locked out of a secure home,” said Rayner.

“With investment and reform, this government is delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, unleashing a social rent revolution, and embarking on a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing in this country.   

“That’s why I am urging everyone in the social housing sector to step forward with us now to make this vision a reality, to work together to turn the tide on the housing crisis together and deliver the homes and living standards people deserve through our Plan for Change.” 

Rayner set out “five steps” in the government’s plan, which included boosting grant funding, rebuilding borrowing capacity in the sector, and establishing a stable regulatory regime.

The remaining steps are to reinvigorate council housebuilding and “forge a renewed partnership with the sector to build at scale”.

As well as funding for the new SAHP, last month’s spending review included a commitment to a new long-term 10-year settlement for social housing rents, which will be introduced from April 2026.

The government also committed to publishing a consultation on how to implement a convergence measure, with options for this being capped at £1 or £2 per week. A final decision will be announced in the Autumn Budget.