‘Welcome, but much more is needed’ – social housing sector reacts to £300m top-up to the Affordable Homes Programme

Social housing sector leaders have welcomed the surprise £300m top-up funding for affordable house building announced this morning but cautioned much more will be needed in the spending review to get Britain building the homes it needs.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) this morning announced an extra £300m for the current, 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme.

This funding is on top of the £500m ‘top-up’ announced in the Autumn Budget.

MHCLG said the new funding will be used to deliver 2,800 homes, half for social rent, with £60m earmarked for London and £240m in the rest of England. MHCLG also announced £50m extra to help local authorities obtain supported housing.

The announcement of the funding, and the fact half is due to be allocated for social rent, has been welcomed by many leaders this morning but many are also cautioning that the spending review in June must outline substantial support beyond 2026.

>>See also: Further £300m top-up announced for Affordable Homes Programme

Fiona Fletcher-Smith, chair of the G15 and chief executive of L&Q, said: “We welcome today’s funding announcement, but it doesn’t come close to what’s needed. In London alone, delivering the 120,000 affordable homes required over the next five years will cost £54 billion.

“A 10-year rent settlement of CPI+1%, a long-term successor to the Affordable Homes Programme, equal access to Building Safety Fund, and a new Warm and Decent Homes fund are the bare minimum needed to get us back to building. Without this, we are managing decline—not solving the crisis.”

Gavin Smart, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, described the additional investment as “very welcome”. But he added: “Going forward, we hope the government will use the next fiscal update to confirm sustained, long-term investment to meet the scale of demand and ensure everyone has access to a safe, secure, and affordable home.”

Andy Hulme, chief executive of Hyde Group, said he welcomes the “direction and intent” of the announcement but hopes the £300m is merely a “downpayment” on future funding.

 “It is obvious that more is needed, but this is hopefully a statement of intent ahead of the spending review.”

Stephen Teagle, Vistry Group

He said: “However, the most important thing the government can do is to make social housing financially sustainable so we can play our part in meeting the government’s 1.5m new homes target in this parliament.

“To achieve this the government needs to agree to an expanded long-term Affordable Homes Programme at the spending review, and an ambitious ten-year, inflation-linked settlement for social rents which is greater than CPI+1%, and critically to reintroduce and accelerate rent convergence.”

Stephen Teagle, chief executive, partnerships and regeneration at Vistry Group, said: “This announcement reflects the Government’s clear commitment to start to unlock the delivery of much-needed affordable homes across the UK.

 “It is obvious that more is needed, but this is hopefully a statement of intent ahead of the spending review.”

Olivia Harris, chief executive of Dolphin Living, said she wants some of the extra funding to be invested in delivering housing for “critical workers who are being priced out of high value areas, like London, and risking the delivery of essential services and economic growth.”