Six mayors to get powers over £7bn in Social and Affordable Homes Programme

Mayors outside of London will choose how £7bn of the government’s forthcoming Social and Affordable Homes Programme will be spent.

A £39bn package for investment in affordable homes was announced earlier this year at the spending review, with Homes England and the Greater London Authority once again responsible for its delivery.

However, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has today announced that mayors in six devolved regions will be able to prioritise indicative spending of a portion of the fund.

The mayors will work jointly with Homes England to shape the course of action for affordable housing money, including the type of homes, prioritised sites and how many suitable bids for grant may come forward in their area.

Tracy Harrison, chief executive of the Northern Housing Consortium, said: “We especially welcome the confirmation that elected mayors across the North will play a major role in the delivery of the next programme. They will have a greater say over funding and a bigger role in identifying and prioritising specific sites, and the type of homes that should be built in their areas.”

Peabody chief executive and chair of the G15, Ian McDermott, said: “It’s great to see the government backing mayors to help build more social and affordable homes.”

Housing secretary Steve Reed and his ministers have called for the social housing sector to be as ambitious as possible in their bids for grant funding, with bidding officially opening in February.

Homes England, which will be responsible for at least £27.2bn of funding, also published guidance today ahead of the opening of bidding applications. The government said the guidance, issued on its website, is part of a broader engagement campaign to help potential grant applicants and other stakeholders access information about the programme.

While the government announced some new goals for the 2026-2036 programme, including a 60% social rent target, Homes England said that many of the new scheme requirements mirror the existing one.

Homes England affordable housing director Shahi Islam said this would help “maintain delivery momentum and minimise disruption”.

Homes England will manage all provider bids, with two different application routes available. The first, Continuous Market Engagement route, is where an applicant will deliver on a specific site or sites, while the second, Strategic Partnership route, is where the applicant will deliver a set amount of homes over a set time period.

It plans to introduce a new digital system to streamline applications and grant management and said further guidance and information on this would be provided ahead of bidding opening.

“The new guidance has been released now to help the sector prepare for the new programme ahead of its official launch and the application window opening,” said Islam.

“Now is the time to reach out for support and our team is ready and waiting to help stakeholders be clear and confident in how they can contribute to delivering much needed affordable and social rent homes for communities the length and breadth of the country.”

Today also saw the government reveal the regional funding settlement for its £150m Brownfield Housing Fund 2025/26.

Reed said: “Families have been trapped in so-called temporary accommodation for years or stuck on council waiting lists with no hope of a secure home.

“We’re changing that for good with the biggest boost to social housebuilding in a generation and getting behind mayors who are ready to build affordable housing across their regions.”