Government announces £1.67bn for affordable homes and raises the borrowing cap for council housing to £1bn.
The government wants around 23,000 new affordable homes to be delivered through its £1.67bn investment deal as announced by Secretary of State for Communities James Brokenshire on 26 June. This will include at least 12,500 social rent homes in high cost areas in a move to support families struggling to pay their rent.
The funding is part of the government’s £9bn investment in affordable homes, £1.67bn of which was announced in March 2018 for London. This latest funding will deliver homes across the rest of the country.
The Communities Secretary also invited local authorities to bid for a share of £1bn extra borrowing to build new homes, which will be split equally between London and the rest of England.
Local authorities have requested this extra financial flexibility, which will be allocated to those in areas with the highest affordability pressures to ensure homes are built where they are needed most.
These new measures are part of the government’s plans to build 1.5 million new homes by 2022 through planning reform and targeted investment.
A bidding process will now begin for both programmes, with successful bids for the affordable homes funding notified throughout the year.
