The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government must move at pace to ensure its new National Housing Delivery Fund delivers value for money and supports the government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes by July 2029, according to a new report from the National Audit Office.
Since 2016, MHCLG has allocated £10.5 billion to unlock land capable of supporting an estimated 713,000 homes, working with Homes England and other delivery partners to intervene on sites that would not progress without government support. The NAO’s latest report, titled Unlocking Land for Housing, examines whether these programmes are effectively increasing the supply of land for housing development.
Through grants, loans and equity investment, MHCLG and Homes England have committed £8.4 billion of the available funding, with £5.7 billion spent so far. The programmes have supported 768 sites, including:
- 20 major projects of over £100 million each, averaging delivery of land for 7,000 homes
- 410 smaller projects, each receiving £1 million or less and delivering land for around 20 homes
So far, 141 projects have completed their unlocking works, with the remainder expected to continue until 2034. Housebuilding on some sites could continue until 2050.
However, the NAO notes that MHCLG did not initially track the number of homes built under three of its major programmes, despite these collectively accounting for half of the 713,000 homes expected. MHCLG is now working with Homes England to improve monitoring across all funds.
MHCLG plans to launch the National Housing Delivery Fund on 1 April 2026, creating:
- A single gateway for all financial support aimed at unlocking land
- A new housing bank, as a subsidiary of Homes England
The NAO says that with so many legacy land‑unlocking schemes still ongoing, MHCLG must ensure existing activity continues smoothly while the NHDF is established.
The NAO highlights the inherent complexity of unlocking land – often involving multiple funding partners, staged works, and the need to attract further public or private investment.
Gareth Davies, Head of the National Audit Office, said:
“The success of the new National Housing Delivery Fund will depend on government setting clear ambitions and priorities for investment alongside its approach to risk management, so that public spending genuinely helps unlock the homes the country needs.”
MHCLG and Homes England have already begun reviewing their approach, adopting improvements such as:
- Continuous market engagement, allowing bids to come forward when ready
- A broader assessment framework considering deprivation and environmental benefits
- Stronger collaboration with developers and local authorities
These lessons will inform design of the NHDF.
To ensure the NHDF delivers value for money, the NAO says MHCLG must quickly build on early work to:
- Set clear expected impacts, with performance measures for site progress and build‑out – including use of proxy data where necessary
- Establish long‑term evaluation and monitoring, generating timely evidence from legacy schemes and early NHDF activity
- Clarify funding priorities, engaging with the changing local government landscape and being transparent about which areas will receive support
- Adopt a clear risk‑management approach, shared across MHCLG, Homes England and delivery partners
With the UK facing acute housing pressures and the government committed to 1.5 million new homes by 2029, the NAO concludes that MHCLG’s success in setting up the NHDF quickly and effectively will be crucial to unlocking land at the scale required.
The coming months will therefore be essential in shaping how government investment translates into real‑world housing delivery across England.
The Local Government Association has responded to the report, with Inclusive Growth Committee Chair Cllr Tom Hunt saying:
“Our communities desperately need new homes, and programmes within the National Housing Delivery Fund will help deliver the land and homes needed.
“To truly maximise the number of new homes brought forward through the National Housing Delivery Fund, councils should be given access to the £2.5 billion in low-cost loans made available in the National Housing Bank.
"Local government looks forward to working with central government and other key delivery partners – councils are highly adept at delivering homes on small sites, so supporting them to deliver, for instance through continued Brownfield Land Release Funding for unviable sites, accessible to all councils, would deliver more homes at pace.”
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