There are increased investment opportunities due to market sentiment, Homes England says
Homes England has invited registered providers to submit bids for affordable housing grant under the 2021 to 2026 Affordable Homes Programme (AHP), amid an improvement in market conditions.
Homes England is inviting bids for grant for homes that will start by March 2025 and be delivered by March 2026
The government’s housing and regeneration agency has said that according to market sentiment, there are increased investment opportunities that could deliver additional affordable housing supply.
Homes England expects to allocate an unquanitified proportion of the existing 2021-2026 AHP budget to projects that will start by March 2025 and complete by March 2026, with proposals required to deliver at least 500 affordable homes.
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Terms will be secured through the existing contractual framework for current grant recipients and a continuous market engagement (CME) contract for new entrants.
CME allows providers to apply for funding for individual schemes, while strategic partnerships enable housing providers to access grant for a longer-term development programme.
The Government committed £11.4 billion in funding over the five-year AHP, from 2021-2026, which will be split between England (£7.4 billion) and London (£4 billion).
In September 2021, Homes England committed almost £5.2bn in affordable housing grant to 31 strategic partnerships with 35 organisations under the 2021-2026 AHP. These partnerships included a 4,770-home development delivered by Clarion, the delivery of 3,755 homes by Greensquare Accord and 3,000 homes by Hyde.
In 2021, Homes England allowed councils and “for-profit” housing associations to become strategic partners for the first time, with only housing associations previously permitted.
The 2021-2026 AHP was expected to support the delivery of up to 180,000 new homes with completions continuing up to 2028. In 2022, the Department for Levelling Up, Communities and Housing (DLUHC) downgraded its delivery forecast to 157,000 new homes.
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