Mayors to lead the charge for thousands of new social homes
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-06)

Mayors outside of London to be given greater influence over the government's historic £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

- Mayors setting housing agenda to build more social and affordable homes for the first time, backed by £7 billion funding from historic decade-long programme
- Sweeping measures to strip away barriers for councils to build at scale, helping more families escape temporary accommodation and agonising waiting lists
- Alongside £150 million package to give Mayors the tools to transform neglected brownfield land into high-quality homes, jobs, and green spaces
Mayors outside of London will be given greater influence over the government’s multi-billion-pound affordable housing programme, as part of the Housing Secretary’s drive to accelerate the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

Through the government’s historic £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme, Mayors will now be able to prioritise indicative spending of £7 billion, split across six regions, for the first time that will provide secure, affordable housing faster for families priced out of home ownership.

Aimed to bring down record numbers of households stuck on social housing waiting lists, the new programme is expected to deliver at least 60% social rent homes – creating around 180,000 across England including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and the North East where Mayors are raring to go and deliver.

More councils will also build social housing at a scale not seen in years, receiving millions of pounds to draw up plans this year that will unlock thousands of new council homes.

This comes after the Housing Secretary made his first big intervention in the social and affordable housing space and hosted the industry’s biggest providers at a summit last month, urging key players in the sector to ‘go big, go bold, and go build’.

Housing Secretary Steve 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.

“We’re also backing councils to build again and transform derelict sites into thriving neighbourhoods, urging them to go big, go bold and go build.”

For the first time Mayors, working jointly with Homes England, will shape the course of action for new affordable housing money in their regions, setting out ambitious plans for the types of homes that get built, sites prioritised for construction and how many suitable bids for grant funding could come forward in each area.

As part of these plans housing providers will be required to demonstrate how their bids align with local priorities, accelerating delivery of homes that genuinely meet local needs, ranging from specialist housing for older people to community-led projects.

The Housing Secretary and Housing Minister are calling on the sector to be as ambitious as possible in their bids for new grant funding, with the door to bidding officially opening in February, working hand in glove to maximise use of the record investment.

The new programme forms a cornerstone of the government’s Plan for Change to build 1.5 million homes this Parliament, putting social and affordable housing at the heart of delivery.

To further ramp up housebuilding, the government is removing barriers preventing councils building at scale. This includes a new route to bid into the Social and Affordable Homes Programme as well as allowing councils to combine Right to Buy receipts from sales with grant funding from next year.

The government will also shortly be informing councils of their initial offer under the latest round of the Local Authority Housing Fund and providing guidance on how they can apply for funding. The £950 million – the largest investment in the fund to date – will increase the supply of good-quality temporary accommodation for homeless families and driving down the use of costly B&Bs.

Laser focused on regional Mayors getting more spades in the ground, the government is also injecting £150 million to transform derelict brownfield sites into over 4,000 new homes. Awarded directly to mayoral strategic authorities, the money will unlock left-behind sites and create jobs, paving the way for more local families and working people to step onto the housing ladder.

Homes England Chief Executive Amy Rees CB said:

“The importance of this funding cannot be underestimated in opening the door to thousands of new, affordable homes for communities across the country – and we will do everything in our power to ensure every penny of grant allocation helps deliver the right homes in the right places, at pace, for the people who need them.

“Our team is incredibly proud and driven to help create a new generation of affordable and social rent homes, working alongside local leaders who know their communities best, and providers who have the expertise and commitment to deliver with our support.”

Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, Kate Henderson said:

“Today’s announcements send a clear signal that social and affordable housing remains a pillar of the government’s housebuilding ambitions.

“While the housing crisis touches all parts of the country, different areas have different needs. These plans will empower mayors to work alongside housing associations to meet the specific housing requirements of their local communities – be that family-sized homes, or homes for older people.

“With a record 170,000 children now homeless and living in damaging temporary accommodation, delivering on a decade of renewal for social housing has never been more important. Housing associations are already ramping up their plans for housebuilding and are committed to working in partnership with the government to deliver the homes our country needs.”

Peabody CEO 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. This will help regional leaders to support communities and drive local growth through social and affordable housebuilding, and we’re ready to play our part.

As not-for-profit social landlords, we work alongside mayors and councils to regenerate places and provide more and better social homes across the country. We warmly welcome the government’s ambition and commitment and will continue to do all we can to help deliver a decade of growth and renewal for social housing.”

Further information

The Social and Affordable Homes Programme is a 10-year programme (2026-2036) worth a record £39 billion investment, delivered through Homes England (outside London) and the Greater London Authority (in London).

Today confirms how the programme will be delivered in practice, with delivery partner prospectuses being published detailing how social housing providers can access funding, the expectations placed on them, and the flexibilities built into the programme to support an ambitious pipeline of new homes.

Bidding guidance will be published by Homes England and the Greater London Authority ahead of bidding opening in February 2026.

The programme will deliver around 300,000 affordable homes, with at least 60% as Social Rent homes. This forms part of the government’s five step plan to deliver a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/delivering-a-decade-of-renewal-for-social-and-affordable-housing/delivering-a-decade-of-renewal-for-social-and-affordable-housing).

Indicative spend for Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities, subject to suitable bids include:
- Greater Manchester: £1.8 billion
- West Midlands: £1.7 billion
- North East: £1.1 billion
- West Yorkshire: £1 billion
- Liverpool City Region: £700 million
- South Yorkshire: £700 million
Homes England’s new portfolio route will help councils to bid for grant funding at an earlier stage in the pre-development process and across several sites at once, thereby encouraging larger, more ambitious housing projects in the pipeline.

29 councils have received £5.5million to unlock up to 7,000 new council homes through the Council Housebuilding Support Fund, as part of the £14 million Council Housebuilding Skills and Capacity Programme in 2025-26.

New flexibility allows councils to combine Right to Buy receipts with grant funding from 2026-27. The option to mix receipts with grant will allow councils to be more ambitious in their bids to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme, ensuring that they can build as many homes as possible.

£150 million brownfield funding announced today builds on the previous £600 million Brownfield Housing Fund, which has already unlocked 22,000 home starts.

Brownfield Housing Fund 2025/26 settlement: