Budget to include another £1bn for social and affordable homes in England
The extra money takes the government's 10-year housing programme past £40bn, and councils will get help borrowing to build homes of their own.
More than £1bn of extra money for social and affordable housing in England will be set out in Wednesday's Budget, the Treasury has said.
The top-up takes total funding for the government's 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme to more than £40bn. Chancellor John Healey will deliver his first Budget on 28 October.
Councils will also be helped to borrow from the government to invest in housebuilding, through an extended offer of cheaper interest rates. Councils that build their own homes usually pay for them with borrowing, so the rate they are charged has a direct effect on how many they can afford to take on.
What the programme pays for
The Social and Affordable Homes Programme runs from 2026 to 2036 and is the government's main fund for building homes that are let or sold below market prices.
Outside London it is run by Homes England, which had at least £27.3bn to spend before this latest announcement. In London, housing associations and councils apply for affordable housing money through the Greater London Authority instead.
Under the programme's rules:
- At least 60% of the homes it funds should be for Social Rent, the lowest-cost kind of rented housing, with rents set using a government formula rather than by the market.
- Building must start by 31 March 2036, and homes must be finished by 31 March 2039.
- Homes that can be completed early are given priority, particularly those ready by March 2029.
The money can go to housing associations, councils, housebuilders and developers, charities and community-led groups. Most landlords of the rented homes must be registered with the Regulator of Social Housing.
Why it matters for households
Social and affordable homes are aimed at people who cannot afford to rent or buy at full market prices, including many of the households on council waiting lists. The government has set itself a target of 1.5 million new homes in England during this Parliament, and says the programme is part of how it plans to get there.
How many extra homes the additional £1bn pays for will depend on where and how it is spent, because building costs and land prices vary widely across the country.
What happens next
The housing money is one of several announcements the Treasury has released ahead of the Budget, alongside wider changes to how mayors and local leaders in England are funded.
Full details, including how the extra money will be shared out and when it can be spent, are expected when the chancellor makes his statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday. Funding for housing in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is decided by the devolved governments.
