Bids for Affordable Homes Funding Invited

HOUSING SECRETARY Robert Jenrick has announced a prospectus inviting bids for £11 million of funding to build affordable housing.

The £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will be delivered over 5 years from 2021 to 2026, providing up to 180,000 new homes across the country. The funding is subject to the Government’s proviso of “should economic conditions allow”. New homes will be made available from next year, it says.

Affordable Homes

Around half of the new homes will be available for affordable home ownership. The rest will be made available for discounted rent, including 10% to support people with physical or mental health problems.

The Greater London Authority has been offered £4 billion of funding and negotiations about what they will deliver with this are in progress. The rest of the country gets £7 billion for housing outside London delivered by Homes England.

Homes England will publish their Affordable Homes Programme prospectus this week, inviting councils, housing associations and private providers to start preparing their bids.

Shared Ownership

Also being launched is a new model for Shared Ownership which will reduce the minimum initial share occupants can buy in a property from 25% to 10%, with further increments of 1% available. The new model is also proposing a 10-year period when the landlord will cover repairs and maintenance costs. A Right to Shared Ownership will be available for most rented homes delivered through the programme.

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter, said: “With an unprecedented recession underway, major job losses on the horizon, and a housing emergency about to spin out of control, the government must invest more in social housing than its current plans allow for. Social homes are designed to be genuinely affordable, which is exactly what we need right now. Discounted homeownership schemes are not.”

There is also a consultation on making new homes more accessible for disabled people.

Nick Walkley, Chief Executive of Homes England, said: “The fund will support improved productivity in construction and unlock new economic opportunities across the country. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, this long-term funding settlement gives our partners the confidence they need to invest in new homes and the communities they work for.”

In the past decade, 460,000 affordable homes have been built.