£8.6 billion allocated to boost the number of affordable homes

The government has allocated £8.6 billion to boost the number of affordable new homes and help thousands of people on to the property ladder.

The Affordable Homes Programme is expected to deliver around 119,000 homes, including 57,000 for ownership, 29,600 for social rent and 6,250 affordable rural homes.

The cash injection could support up to 370,000 jobs across the country for homebuilders, SME developers, and wider businesses supporting the house building industry such as electricians and plumbers.

This follows other government schemes to help first-time buyers into homeownership including First Homes, offering new homes at a 30% discount to the open market value, and the 95% mortgage guarantee scheme, which helps first-time buyers secure a mortgage with just a 5% deposit.

The funding will also deliver nearly 30,000 homes for Social Rent, which are typically 50 to 60% of market prices, providing secure, affordable housing to people who need it most.

The funding allocations are taken from the £11.5 billion Affordable Housing Programme, which will deliver up to 180,000 new affordable homes should economic conditions allow.   Nearly £5.2 billion of the package will be delivered outside London by Homes England, the government body responsible for housing delivery.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) will deliver homes within London.

Nearly 90 new partnerships – made up of councils, housing associations and private providers – successfully bid for their share of programme funding.  

The CEO of Homes England, Peter Denton, said the programme establishes a large network of organisations looking to share their skills and capabilities to expand the affordable housing sector and transform communities.

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