£7 billion affordable housing fund unlocked

Yesterday the Government announced that a total fund of £7 billion has been made available in a “dramatic expansion”  of its affordable housing programme.

From 5 January, housing providers will be able to apply for a share of the fund which aims to deliver more than 200,000 new homes. The Communities Secretary announced that the “turbo charged” multi billion investment should allow more homes to be built “in places where they are most needed“. The programme will encompass a variety of tenures including Affordable Rent, Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy.

A significant proportion of this fund has in fact already been allocated following the launch of a Prospectus in April 2016 by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). However, an Addendum has just been released by the HCA inviting the next round of bids covering the unallocated balance.  There is no closing date for new applications which will be dealt with on an on-going basis.  Housing providers need to submit their bids using the HCA’s Investment Management System and only “firm  schemes” as defined in the original prospectus will be considered.

So even though the £7 billion has already been partially allocated, the overall release of such extensive funding will undoubtedly assist in reducing the housing supply shortage and hopefully shore up confidence in the market in post Brexit 2017.

If you have any questions contact our planning team.