The Social and Affordable Homes Programme

Today’s announcement of strategic partnership funding by Homes England is hugely welcome and marks an important step towards unlocking the delivery of tens of thousands of desperately needed new social homes.

We have long called for this investment, and it is encouraging to see the government backing housing associations that responded to its request for bold and ambitious proposals. Many of our members can now move forward with plans they have spent years developing, bringing forward new affordable homes, supporting jobs and skills, and helping to tackle the housing crisis.

Through the Autumn Budget, we will be calling for additional grant funding, a further round of strategic partnership allocations and access to low-cost lending. Together, these measures would maximise the social housing sector’s ability to deliver on the Prime Minister’s ambition of the biggest boost to council and social housing since the post-war period.

Background

As part of its June 2025 Spending Review, the government announced £39bn in funding for the next Affordable Homes Programme which will be titled the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP). This funding will be spread across 10 years.

Spending will reach £4bn per year in 2029-30 and will then rise in line with inflation.

Homes England and the Greater London Authority (GLA) have since launched the prospectuses for the programme. This launch also included:

• A supporting policy statement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
• A letter from the Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook MP to the sector.
• Guidance detailing the strategic priorities of Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities (EMSAs).

Bidding

Housing associations can bid for Homes England funding either through the CME route or stategic partnerships. The strategic oartnership bidding round closed on 15 April 2026.

In London, funding is allocated through London Social Affordable Homes Programme (LSAHP), which is adminstered through the Greater London Authority (GLA). The government allocated up to £11.7bn to the GLA to deliver LSAHP.

Long-term indicative funding allocations and strategic partnerships are available only through this initial bidding window, which closed on 15 April 2026. Funding for site-specific projects is still available.

We have summarised the key details from these documents below. Please get in touch if you have any questions.

The role of Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities

The guidance details the local priorities that Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities (EMSAs) have set in their areas. Bids needed to align with their local priorities where there are plans to build within those areas, but there was no expectation that the SAHP will be able to support the delivery of all the EMSA’s ambitions.

Homes England was the final decision maker and single window for all applications and funding. The only exception to this is the GLA, which will be responsible for allocating up to 30% of the SAHP funding.

Delivery targets and tenure types

The government aims to deliver 300,000 homes over the programme, with at least 60% or 180,000 of the homes for social rent. The remainder of the SAHP is for other tenures including shared ownership, affordable housing as well as intermediate rent in London and London Living Rent.

Homes England is committed to ensuring shared ownership schemes are viable and provide a good experience for customers.

Regeneration

Although the SAHP focuses on new supply, there is some support for regeneration schemes. The portfolio approach to Continuous Market Engagement (CME) which is detailed below means that if a portfolio or strategic partnership provides a net increase in affordable homes, not every individual part of it needs to. This and the longer, 10-year timeframe should provide greater support to regeneration projects.

Continuous Market Engagement (CME)

The SAHP will allow bids for individual projects on an ongoing basis. In addition to the scheme-by-scheme funding, Homes England launched a new portfolio approach that allows for bids across several sites at once. This is to encourage more ambitious projects and to provide more flexibility as schemes change and costs evolve over time.

Strategic partnerships

To expand the delivery of diverse schemes, Homes England has launched a new route for Registered Providers that deliver the majority of their homes via specialist and supported housing, with a lower minimum number of homes that are required to be delivered.

Low interest loans and the National Housing Bank

MHCLG has reiterated its commitment to providing £2.5bn in low-interest loans for new social and affordable housing. These loans will be available from 2026-2030 and administered by the National Housing Bank and the GLA. The bidding process will closely align with the SAHP, and more detail is expected on this before the end of the year.