Referral of the proposed Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026 to 2036 by Homes England
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-07)

The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has accepted a request for a report providing advice to  Homes England concerning its proposed Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026 to 2036 scheme.

Administrative timetable

Request from Homes England

7 November 2025: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from Homes England concerning its proposed Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026 to 2036 scheme (the scheme). This request relates to a Subsidy scheme of Particular Interest.

The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of Homes England’s assessment of whether the Scheme complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.

Information about the scheme provided by Homes England

Homes England is proposing to create a scheme to provide grant funding to support the capital costs of developing social and affordable housing in England (outside of London). The policy objective of the scheme is to increase access to housing for those who cannot afford to buy or rent a home at the market price.

Homes England has been allocated up to £31.2 billion of government funding to deliver the scheme from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2036. Completion of the development of social and affordable housing must occur by 31 March 2039.

There are two routes to access funding:

Continuous Market Engagement (CME) allows partners to bid on a project-by-project and portfolio basis

Strategic Partnerships (SP) allow partners to bid on a long-term, programme-level basis

All bids for funding are assessed against the priorities of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) using the assessment process.

There is no cap within the scheme on the total amount of SAHP grant a recipient may be given but, for both CME and SP routes, the assessment criteria include consideration of value for money, deliverability, and fit with strategic priorities to ensure the project is only funding the viability gap.

The assessment process identifying the viability gap is based on an analysis of total costs versus applicant’s maximised financial contributions (including loan debt), with grant being the minimum amount allocated to achieve a viable, deliverable, affordable project. The subsidy paid is the balancing sum after all other contributions have been stretched as far as they can by the applicant in accordance with their approved business plans.

The scheme supports the delivery of:
- general needs homes for rent (Social Rent and Affordable Rent)
- general needs homes for ownership (Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy)
- specialist and supported housing for older, disabled or vulnerable people
- homes in rural areas
- re-purposing empty homes
- traveller pitches
- community-led housing
- regeneration of existing housing estates
- acquisition of market homes for use as affordable housing
Funding will be considered for a range of grant beneficiaries, including:
- not-for-profit registered providers
- for-profit registered providers
- local authorities
- housebuilders and developers
- charities
- community-led organisations
Grant will only be allocated to qualified Investment Partners. Investment Partner status is a Homes England qualification which confirms partners:
- are eligible to be a partner (for example, Registered Providers must be delivering outcomes of the standards set by the Regulator of Social Housing)
- have the financial and technical capacity to deliver their proposed scheme(s)
- have financial and legal ‘good standing’ (for example – have the full power and authority to enter into an agreement with Homes England)
Allocation of grant will be underpinned by the terms of a grant funding agreement which monitors performance, ensures grant is only used to fund the identified capital costs of delivering the affordable housing, ensures grant is not paid in advance of need and is paid against the achievement of delivery milestones. The grant funding agreement sets out the circumstances in which grant has to be repaid, which includes when grant-funded homes cease to be used as affordable housing. In such circumstances, Registered Providers are generally able to recycle grant funding towards permitted uses such as developing new affordable homes, rather than repaying the relevant grant directly to Homes England.

Information for third parties

If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAU’s evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning Homes England’s proposed subsidy scheme please send your comments on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-the-operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit/operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit).

Please send your submissions to us at: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx), copying the public authority xxx@xxx.xx

Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).

Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission

The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with Homes England. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to Homes England together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to make or modify the subsidy or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with Homes England using the email address provided above.

The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.

For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-the-operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit/operation-of-the-subsidy-control-functions-of-the-subsidy-advice-unit).

Contacts

SAU project team: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)

CMA press team: xx-xxxx-xxxx or xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)