The government has provided £500m of new funding for the Affordable Homes Programme to support the delivery of 5,000 affordable social homes.
This brings total investment in housing supply to more than £5bn, which government said would support the delivery of some 33,000 homes.
The investment comes ahead of the Labour’s Housing Strategy, which is due to be published next spring.
Labour said the strategy would lay the foundations “to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation” and would help councils and housing associations to build their capacity and make a greater contribution to affordable housing supply.
Deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing Angela Rayner said the investment was a “further significant step in our plan to get Britain building again, backing the sector, so they can help us deliver a social and affordable housing boom, supporting millions of people up and down the country into a safe, affordable and decent home they can be proud of”.
Alongside the new funding, government said it would also launch a consultation on a new five-year social housing rent settlement, which caps the rents social housing providers can charge their tenants, to provide the sector with the certainty it needs to invest in new social housing. The intention would be for this to increase with Consumer Price Index inflation figure plus 1%. The consultation will also seek views on other potential options to give greater certainty, such as providing a 10-year settlement.
Kate Henderson, chief executive at the National Housing Federation, said the top up in funding and the consultation was “strongly welcomed”.
“This vital injection of funding, which we have been urgently calling for, will support housing associations to continue to deliver much-needed affordable homes in the immediate term and prevent a collapse in delivery,” said Henderson. “We share the government’s ambition to build 1.5m homes over this parliament and stand ready to deliver the social homes needed, which is why we welcome a consultation on a new rent settlement. This will provide both transparency for residents and long-term certainty and financial stability for social housing providers. We also support the government’s decision to review Right to Buy discounts.”
She added: “To achieve the affordable homes needed across the country, alongside this short-term top-up, we look forward to a new long-term housing strategy announced at the next spending review, including a significant boost in funding for social housing.”
Photo by Ian Murray/imageBROKER/Shutterstock (14301038df)
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