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May announces extra £2bn for social and affordable housing
Theresa May has announced an extra £2bn for “affordable housing”, with funding for social rented homes in areas “where need is greatest”, in her closing speech to the Conservative Party conference.
The prime minister said there will now be “almost £9bn” available for affordable housing which both councils and housing associations can bid for.
A spokesperson said with a "typical subsidy" of £80,000 per home the £2bn can pay for 25,000 "homes for social rent" over five years. It is not clear if the government expects all homes funded through the £2bn to be social rent.
Mrs May told the conference: “We will invest an additional £2bn in affordable housing, taking the government’s affordable housing budget to £9bn.
“We will encourage councils as well as housing associations and provide certainty over future rent levels.
“In those parts of the country where need is greatest we will allow social rented housing to be built, at well below market levels, getting the government back into the business of building houses.”
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Inside Housing has enquired how much funding will be available for social rented homes, where the £2bn is coming from in the government’s budget and how “areas where need is greatest” will be denied.
Ms May said whether someone hopes to buy their own home or has been waiting for a council home “help is on the way”.
Ms May’s speech today represents a dramatic shift both from the previous government’s focus on homeownership and policies her government had put forward earlier in the year. Before the election Ms May pledged to deliver a “new generation of social rented homes”, but Inside Housing then exclusively revealed these would be at affordable rent levels, up to 80% of market rent.
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, described it as a “watershed moment for the nation”.
He added: “In the aftermath of the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower, the prime minister said that we as a nation have not paid enough attention to social housing. Today, she is right to make a bold break with the past and commit to building the homes we need most – genuinely affordable homes for those on the lowest incomes.
“The additional £2bn will make a real difference to those let down by a broken housing market. Building homes for social rent will make work pay and help bring down the housing benefit bill in the long run by moving people out of costly private lets.”
