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Billions of pounds released to expand government affordable housing programme

Posted 5 January 2017 by Keith Osborne

The government is offering more funds to build tens of thousands of new affordable homes for sale and rent across Britain until 2021...

The government has unlocked £7bn to fund its programme for new affordable housing across the UK, covering Shared Ownership, Rent to Buy and Affordable Rent properties.

Developers are invited to apply for funding to build new homes under these schemes over the next four years. The government has also released a list of property developers and housing associations which have already been allocated some £1.28bn since April 2016.

This follows hot on the heels of earlier government announcements about new ‘garden village’ schemes to commence this year, providing up to 48,000 new homes across 17 sites, and the first phase of discounted homes for first-time buyers related to the Starter Homes Initiative.

Communities secretary Sajid Javid says: “This government is committed to increasing housing supply and halting the decline in affordability. Our newly expanded affordable housing programme, turbo-charged by a multi-billion pound investment, will allow housing associations to build more homes in places where they are most needed, particularly for families who are just about managing. By encouraging the delivery of more homes under a variety of tenures, we can create a housing market which truly works for everyone, meeting the diverse housing needs of this country.”

Housing minister Gavin Barwell adds: “Up and down the country we are investing more in affordable housing to help make the dream of home ownership a reality for thousands more tenants. This includes opening up the housing market to younger people and providing decent, affordable homes for rent for those who cannot afford to buy.”

Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) chairman Sir Ed Lister remarks: “The HCA is leading the government’s drive to increase the scale and pace of delivery of housebuilding. The expanded affordable housing programme will help us continue to work with both housing associations and developers new to this area of the housing market to increase the availability of affordable homes.”

 

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