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Associations welcome ‘flexibility’ in mayor's funding programme
The flexibility of the mayor of London’s new affordable housing programme was key to its popularity, housing associations have said.
A number of elements in Sadiq Khan’s programme meant that housing associations were given far more control in various areas than they had been under previous programmes.
For example, if an association signed up to a strategic partnership with the Greater London Authority (GLA), they have more freedom over when they can draw down grants.
Furthermore, for all associations receiving funding, shared ownership and London Living Rent homes will effectively be considered interchangeable, with associations being given the power to swap one for the other depending on local circumstances.
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Many of the homes will be let at the mayor’s new product, London Affordable Rent. This is set at the level of the social rent cap, but is between 10% and 43% higher than the average London social rent, according to the English Housing Survey.
Paul Hackett, chair of the G15 group of London’s largest housing associations and chief executive of Optivo, told Inside Housing: “Flexibility about grant drawdown, flexibility on tenure, flexibility on programme management are all very appealing.
“It means we’ve got a more grown up relationship with the GLA. There’s a higher degree of trust – the mayor’s trusting us. In essence, it’s a more mature relationship.”
Helen Evans, chief executive of Network Homes, one of the GLA’s new strategic partners, said: “It’s great that the GLA has been able to restructure the way that they’re organising the programme to pay grants at the start rather than at completion. The GLA has taken a very collaborative approach.”
James Murray, deputy mayor for housing, told Inside Housing: “It’s going to be a stretching target for us to deliver but I think in the conversations that I’ve had with housing associations they’re really up for joining us to meet that ambition.”
He added: “Housing associations, particularly larger ones, have liked the fact that we’ve offered strategic partnerships, whereby we can work in a more flexible way to help them use the money we’ve allocated to bring forward land and accelerate delivery and work closely with them.”
|
Organisation name |
Homes |
GLA funding allocation |
|
A2 Dominion |
1,870 |
£80,776,000 |
|
Almshouse Consortium |
86 |
£5,160,000 |
|
Brick by Brick (Croydon Council) |
199 |
£5,572,000 |
|
Catalyst Housing |
1,216 |
£41,024,000 |
|
City of London |
244 |
£14,640,000 |
|
Clarion Housing Group |
5,000 |
£168,300,000 |
|
Estuary Housing Association |
76 |
£2,072,000 |
|
Evolve Housing & Support |
49 |
£2,940,000 |
|
Genesis Housing Association |
2,049 |
£70,712,000 |
|
Grainger Trust |
34 |
£0 |
|
Hexagon Housing Association |
223 |
£8,548,000 |
|
Home Group |
45 |
£1,164,426 |
|
Hyde Housing Association |
3,000 |
£102,000,000 |
|
Islington & Shoreditch Housing Association |
124 |
£6,374,200 |
|
Lambeth & Southwark Housing Association |
4 |
£240,000 |
|
L&Q |
11,610 |
£394,740,000 |
|
London Borough of Enfield |
148 |
£5,345,000 |
|
London Borough of Harrow |
317 |
£12,620,000 |
|
London Borough of Havering |
610 |
£30,296,000 |
|
London Borough of Hounslow |
174 |
£9,004,000 |
|
London Borough of Lambeth |
912 |
£54,720,000 |
|
London Borough of Wandsworth |
71 |
£3,972,000 |
|
Look Ahead Care and Support |
38 |
£2,400,000 |
|
Metropolitan Housing Trust |
704 |
£18,376,000 |
|
Moat |
50 |
£0 |
|
Network Homes |
1,752 |
£45,756,000 |
|
Newlon Housing Trust |
200 |
£5,600,000 |
|
Notting Hill Housing Trust |
5,321 |
£176,386,962 |
|
Octavia Housing |
833 |
£31,435,500 |
|
One Housing Group |
686 |
£10,184,000 |
|
Optivo |
2,600 |
£88,400,000 |
|
Orbit Group |
347 |
£14,676,000 |
|
Paradigm Housing Group |
134 |
£4,008,000 |
|
Paragon Community Housing Group |
288 |
£1,265,600 |
|
Peabody Trust |
6,000 |
£220,973,768 |
|
Poplar Harca |
144 |
£6,016,000 |
|
Richmond Housing Partnership |
475 |
£17,748,000 |
|
Sanctuary Affordable Housing |
11 |
£308,000 |
|
Southern Housing Group |
601 |
£20,338,000 |
|
Southwark Council |
201 |
£12,060,000 |
|
Swan Housing Association |
127 |
£5,092,000 |
|
Thames Valley Housing Association |
418 |
£8,808,000 |
|
Wandle Housing Association |
307 |
£7,472,000 |
|
YMCA Thames Gateway |
100 |
£6,000,000 |
