Malthouse opens bids for £8.5m ‘discounted homes’ fund

Housing minister Kit Malthouse has unveiled a funding package worth nearly £9m to help local communities develop and then buy discounted homes. 

The minister said volunteer groups looking to build discounted homes would be able to apply for between £10,000 and £50,000 from a pot of £8.5m to help identify suitable sites, get planning permission and provide what he called “other technical support”.

Free specialist advice and guidance would also be offered to those taking part in the three-year pilot programme.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government describes discounted homes as properties built for people to buy “at affordable rates, allowing them to secure mortgages in areas of the country where they are currently locked out of the market by high prices.

“For example, a three-bed home from the Cornwall Community Land Trust was recently sold at a discount for local people for a price of £160,000, compared to an average property price in the county of over £230,000,” it said.

Malthouse said: “Supporting volunteers who are passionate about building more of the homes we need in their communities is something I’m fully behind and I want to see far more people getting involved across England.

“This funding is on top of the £26m already available to help get neighbourhood plans over the line, which act as powerful tools for communities to be involved in the planning of their local area, providing different housing types for those who need new homes.”

Welcoming the announcement Local Government Association housing spokesman Martin Tett said the money would support some communities deliver discounted homes in their area but he said councils also needed to be empowered to build more affordable, good-quality homes at scale, and quickly.

“By recently lifting the borrowing cap on councils to invest in new and existing housing, the government showed it had heard our argument that councils must be part of the solution to the housing crisis.

“In order to resume their historic role as a major builder of affordable homes, councils now also need to be able to keep 100% of Right to Buy receipts to ensure they can replace any homes sold.”