06.07.20
One-year extension to £9bn Affordable Homes Programme
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced a one-year extension to the Government’s £9bn Affordable Homes Programme today (July 6).
The building of 53,000 new affordable homes had an original deadline of needing construction to underway by March 2022. However, since this deadline was set, the construction industry has suffered delays and restrictions as a result of the coronavirus.
In response to these delays, the Government has stepped in to extend the deadline to ensure the investment into these homes is not lost altogether, giving a new ‘shovels in the ground’ deadline of March 2023.
It means that housing associations and councils will have more flexibility to deliver new affordable homes as long as they are in contract to be delivered by the current £9bn Affordable Homes Programme.
Confirmation of the new £12bn Affordable Homes Programme, which is due to start next year, came last week and is due to deliver a further £38bn in public and private investment in affordable housing.
Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:
“Today I am announcing that we are giving more flexibility to housing associations and councils to help them deliver affordable homes. We’ve listened closely to the sector and agreed that there will now have a longer deadline for using Government funding to get these homes built.
“Building the homes the country needs is central to the mission of this Government as we prioritise uniting and levelling up the country.”
Since 2010, more than 1.5 million new homes have been delivered, with more than 460,000 of them being affordable homes.
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