Grant funding provided through the government’s Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 can now be used to fund replacement homes alongside new affordable homes, as part of wider estate regeneration plans unveiled by Homes England.
This change to the programme has been agreed with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and aligns with the agency’s five-year strategic plan, published in May.
Homes England said the change means it can “better support its partners to replace housing that is outdated and no longer fit-for-purpose, with a larger number of high-quality, energy efficient new affordable homes”.
Peter Denton, chief executive of Homes England, said: “The affordable housing sector has always had to balance the investment it makes in existing homes with the investment in makes in building new homes. Over the past year, increasing financial pressures have made achieving that balance even more difficult to manage.
“This change is something the sector has been calling for, and with it there is a real opportunity to accelerate the regeneration of social housing and help level up communities across the country.
“We’ll be working quickly to make this funding available to ensure partners can get the maximum benefit from this change, and are ready to use all of the tools, capacity and capability we have available to us to support delivery. We encourage all affordable housing providers and local authorities to come and talk to us as early as possible if they need support to develop their proposals – we’re here to help.”
The change comes into effect immediately and funding decisions will be made on a regular basis up until the end of March 2025, subject to availability of funding. Homes England said it was keen to see “proposals that can deliver at pace, maximise the number of new affordable homes, and enhance wider efforts to level up and regenerate communities”.
