Homes England Announces Changes to Affordable Homes Programme

A boost for the regeneration ambitions of England’s affordable housing sector has been confirmed by Homes England.

The Government’s Affordable Homes Programme (2021-26) provides grant funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing for rent or sale in England. The programme’s administering body, Homes England, has announced that grants can now be used to fund replacement homes, alongside new affordable homes, as part of wider estate regeneration plans.

The change means that Homes England can better support its partners to replace housing that is outdated and no longer fit-for-purpose, with a larger number of high-quality, energy efficient new affordable homes.

Grant funding for estate regeneration is available to partners looking to replace existing homes with new affordable homes and build additional new affordable homes. Grants are also still available to those looking to only build new affordable homes.

Homes England welcomes proposals from existing and new partners – housing associations, local authorities, developers, for-profit providers, community-led organisations and others who have an ambition to develop affordable homes. Applicants can apply for funding as an individual organisation or as part of a partnership or consortium.

The revisions to the programme will come into effect immediately and funding decisions will be made on a regular basis up until the end of March 2025, subject to availability of funding. Homes England is keen to see proposals that can be delivered quickly, maximising the number of new affordable homes, and boosting efforts to regenerate communities more broadly.

Peter Denton, Chief Executive of Homes England, said:

“This change is something the sector has been calling for, and with it there is a real opportunity to accelerate the regeneration of social housing and help level up communities across the country.

“We encourage all affordable housing providers and local authorities to come and talk to us as early as possible if they need support to develop their proposals.”

Providers can apply through Homes England’s continuous market engagement route, while existing Strategic Partners will be able to use grants already allocated to them.

(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)