The Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, has today (Sept 8) announced how their £12bn Affordable Homes Programme will be used.
Councils, housing associations and private providers will be able to submit a bid for a portion of the funds that were originally announced as part of the 2020 Budget.
The funding will be delivered over 5 years, from 2021 to 2026, with 180,000 new houses expected to be built across the country in that time frame.
Almost half of the housing will be affordable housing, with the other half being discounted rent, including supported housing.
Social rent is typically between 50% and 60% of the usual market rate.
The Government has also outlined that almost £7.5bn of the funds will be distributed outside of London, £2bn more than the last Affordable Homes Programme offered.
Housing Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:
“Today’s announcement represents the highest single funding commitment to affordable housing in a decade and is part of our comprehensive plans to build back better.
“This government is helping hard-working families and prospective first-time buyers get their feet on the housing ladder in an affordable way.
“Thanks to the range of flexible ownership options being made available, more families across the country will be able to realise their dreams of owning their own home, with half of these homes being made available for ownership.”
Alongside the funding announced, the Government has also announced changes to how the Shared Ownership model will work.
The new Shared Ownership model announced today will:
- reduce the minimum initial share you can buy in a property from 25% to 10%
- allow people to buy additional shares in their home in 1% instalments, with heavily reduced fees
- introduce a 10-year period for new shared owners where the landlord will cover the cost of any repairs and maintenance
