UK: The new-look Affordable Homes Programme at a glance (Inside Housing, 8 September 2020)

• The new-look Affordable Homes Programme at a glance

• By Nathaniel Barker. Published on Inside Housing on 8 September 2020

• https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/the-new-look-affordable-homes-programme-at-a-glance-67803

• Summary:

  • The article provides an overview of the new Affordable Homes Programme announced by the government. The programme will dictate how social and affordable housing is funded over the next five years.

  • The Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021-2026 will be worth £11.5bn and, in the words of a government press release, will fund up to 180,000 homes “should economic conditions allow”.

  • The split of funding available to London and the rest of the country is roughly 50/50 at the moment. London mayor Sadiq Khan is taking charge of £4.8bn of the £9bn allocated over the five-year period.

  • Around half the homes delivered through the new AHP will be for homeownership products, the government has announced. By way of comparison, 44% of the first £2bn allocated by Homes England under the current programme was for affordable homeownership products. The government’s latest homeownership product should see homes sold to first-time buyers at 30% discounts.

  • The “vast majority” of rented homes funded through the new AHP will be subject to a “Right to Shared Ownership”. In other words, tenants of these homes will be able to purchase a chunk of the equity and increase the size of that chunk when they are able. There will be some exceptions: council homes (which are already subject to the Right to Buy), supported housing and almshouses and homes in rural exemption sites.

  • The government’s press release indicates that of the homes for rent delivered through the new programme, 10% will be available for supported housing for “those with physical or mental health challenges”.

• Keywords: UK, affordable housing, public housing, social housing, London, rental housing, homeowner, homeownership