The Government’s £7 billion expanded affordable housing programme has now officially opened, after Communities Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed the news that had been first revealed by the Chancellor in the Autumn Statement in November.
Shares of the fund are now available for housing providers to apply for, and an extra £1.4 billion has also been pumped into the original funds in the hope that 40,000 new affordable homes can be created around the UK now that the programme has been opened.
“This Government is committed to increasing housing supply and halting the decline in affordability” commented the Communities Secretary. “Our newly expanded affordable housing programme, turbo-charged by a multi-billion-pound investment, will allow housing associations to build more homes in places where they are most needed, particularly for families who are just about managing.”
Housebuilding is now expected to be boosted and providers are to be encouraged to deliver various different homes that are suited to each individual area, which will have both a low-cost ownership and affordable rent, in what could be a major landmark in regards to the industry improving and moving forward.
The different tenures that will be made available include affordable rent, shared ownership and rent-to-buy, with the latter expected to be set at below 80% of the local market rent for a certain period of time.
“The HCA is leading the government’s drive to increase the scale and pace of delivery of housebuilding” commented Sir Ed Lister, the chairman of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). “The expanded affordable housing programme will help us continue to work with both housing associations and developers new to this area of the housing market to increase the availability of affordable homes.”
This month will also see the Housing White Paper finally being revealed, and the much anticipated paper will provide more announcements regarding this news, so keep your eyes peeled for further information on this affordable housing programme in the near future.
