GLA affordable homes allocations 2021: how they compare with 2016

The latest round of funding was part of the £4bn allocation that London received through the government’s £11.8bn Affordable Homes Programme, covering 2021 to 2026. However, this represents an £800m cut to the overall funding package when compared with the £4.8bn given last time around. Of that, £3.46bn will be handed to 53 partners to deliver 29,456 homes.

The GLA has also set out new rules around the funding. Under the new rules, half of all homes delivered will be for social rent, and half of those social rent homes will be delivered by councils.

There will also be new requirements on the homes built, with all new buildings being required to include sprinklers and have no combustible materials in their facades.

The new homes will also have a minimum floor-to-ceiling height requirements, will require outside space and ensure that they have direct sunlight for at least part of the day.

The latest list of providers to secure cash includes a number of changes from the list in 2016. Some of these changes are the result of mergers, but there are also several organisations that have not received funding this time around and there are also a number of new entrants.

Housing groups that received cash in 2018 but did not take part in the 2021-26 allocations include Home Group, Islington and Shoreditch Housing Association, Look Ahead, Orbit, Paradigm Housing and Swan Housing.

However, 25 providers that were not listed last time around did receive funds this time around. Many of these were councils, with a number of London’s boroughs securing large grant packages. Most notable was the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, which received £171m to start 1,757 homes in the next five years.

For-profit provider ReSI Homes is another new entrant, after securing £56.3m to start 1,250 homes.

Some of the biggest recipients of cash in the 2018-21 allocation received much-reduced shares this time around. L&Q, which received £394.7m for 11,610 home starts in 2018-21, received £55.1m. Peabody received £221m for 6,000 home starts in 2018-21, which has fallen to £120m in the current round.

New housing association recipients in the latest scheme include Riverside, which has received £18.8m; Cromwood Housing, which has received £11.2m; and Phoenix Community Housing Association, which has received £10m.