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Government confirms social rent will be priority in new Affordable Homes Programme
The government has confirmed that the new Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) cash will prioritise social housing.
Government confirms social rent will be priority in new Affordable Homes Programme #UKhousingFollowing the announcement of a 10-year rent settlement and a £39bn AHP in last week’s Spending Review, Inside Housing asked for clarity on grant levels, and the split between social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership.
The government said it will confirm more details about the new AHP “shortly, including the proportion of social housing”.
However, it did confirm that the priority will be social rent. The new £39bn AHP will amount to nearly £4bn a year over the next 10 years.
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Prioritising social rent as part of the new AHP comes on top of a 10-year social rent settlement that will set a rent policy for social housing from 2026 and enable providers to borrow and invest in new and existing homes, while also protecting social housing tenants.
Rents will rise at the Consumer Price Index plus 1% from 2026, and a consultation will follow shortly on how to implement social rent convergence.
As she unveiled the £39bn, 10-year AHP, chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “A plan to match the scale of the housing crisis must include social housing, especially for social rent.”
Last week also came with the promise of a consultation on rent convergence, and equal access to building safety remediation funding.
Meanwhile, Homes England will receive a share of £10bn to encourage private investment in housebuilding, while the government will scrap the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act by next spring and end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by 2029.
Labour’s position has long been to go “net positive” on social rent homes. Another clue about where the focus might be came in April when the boss of Homes England revealed that around 60% of the government’s pre-Spending Review top-ups to the AHP was being spent on social rented homes.
Inside Housing’s Build Social campaign has been calling on the government to commit to a target of 90,000 social rent homes a year.
More Spending Review coverage from Inside Housing
‘Historic’ turning point: sector reacts to Spending Review
The government has announced a 10-year rent settlement, a £39bn Affordable Homes Programme (AHP), and promised a consultation on rent convergence. Stephen Delahunty looks at reaction from across the housing sector
5 things we learned about the Spending Review
Now we know what Labour’s “biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation” really amounts to – £39bn. Stephen Delahunty, James Wilmore and James Riding pore over the Spending Review in more detail
Webinar: what the Spending Review means for housing
Inside Housing convened a panel of experts to take an in-depth look into what Wednesday’s Spending Review means for the sector. Watch here
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