Fresh details are emerging today about the government’s flagship affordable housing funding programme, including the timings of the prospectus, the London split and use of funds. 

The government has, over the past couple of days, confirmed crucial details about its flagship £39bn affordable homes funding programme.

Here is what we know so far:

  • The new programme will be known as the Social and Affordable Homes Programme
  • It will deliver £39bn in grant funding over 10 years
  • MHCLG believes the programme could deliver 300,000 homes, although housing minister Matthew Pennycook told parliament today “accurately forecasting long-term delivery is inherently challenging”
  • “At least” 60% of the homes are expected to be for social rent
  • The remaining 40% will be for affordable rent, intermediate rent and shared ownership
  • 30% of the funds - £11.7bn - will be for London and administered by the Greater London Authority (GLA)
  • A full prospectus for the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme will be published in the autumn 2025 and it will open for bids in the winter.
  • Matthew Pennycook has said the programme will “not have numerical targets or ringfenced budgets for particular regions or types of home beyond the GLA’s portion”.
  • He said MHCLG will ensure that Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities (EMSAs) can set strategic direction for the programme in their area. To support planning, MHCLG will set out upfront indicative spend per EMSA.
  • The programme will not set numerical targets for particular types of homes other than social rent. Government says the programme will be designed with the “flexibility necessary to support a greater diversity of social and affordable supply including council, supported, community-led and rural housing”.
  • SOHP will support regeneration schemes as long as they “provide a net increase in homes on a site and will allow a limited number of acquisitions”.
  • The programme will allow bids for individual projects on an ongoing basis, and for Strategic Partnerships over the life of the programme, including bids for funds over the entire 10 years of starts, with homes completing after 2036 also eligible.
  • A competitive bidding round for Strategic Partnerships will launch this winter, followed by later opportunities to bid.
  • MHCLG will set initial targets for Homes England and the GLA after receiving bids from Registered Providers and these targets will be reviewed across the lifetime of the programme to maximise delivery.

>>See also: Newly-built council homes to be exempt from Right to Buy 35 years

>>See also: London to receive up to 30% of government’s £39bn investment in social and affordable homes

>>See also: MHCLG aiming to ensure planners can draw on similar levels of resources as developers in viability negotiations

 

Topics