The Affordable Homes Programme provides grant funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing for rent or sale.
Funding
Funding decisions for the 2021-2026 period were made on a regular basis up until the end of March 2025. However, the UK government has announced that it will be committing a further £2 billion for the 2026-2027 financial year. Full details will become available after the Spending Review in the middle of June 2025.
What the funding is for
The Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021 to 2026 provides grant funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing in England.
The National Planning Policy Framework defines affordable housing as housing for sale or rent for those whose needs are not met by the market.
Homes England has £8.03 billion of government funding to deliver at least 100,000 affordable homes outside of London by the end of March 2026. We’re committed to working closely with a diverse range of partners – both existing and those we haven’t previously worked with – to maximise the impact of this funding.
This guidance is about bidding for funding on a scheme-by-scheme basis, known as the Continuous Market Engagement (CME) funding route.
Who can bid for funding
We welcome proposals from existing and new partners, including:
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charities
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community organisations
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for-profit housing providers
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housing associations
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housing developers
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local authorities
You can bid for funding as an individual organisation or as part of a partnership or consortium.
Landlords of rented homes built with AHP 2021 to 2026 funding must, by law, be a registered provider. This means you must be registered with the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), a process which can take at least six months. All registered providers are also required to be members of the Housing Ombudsman Service.
If your organisation is an ‘unregistered body’ (not registered with the RSH), you can still bid for funding to develop homes for rent – but once you’ve completed them, you must pass on ownership and management to a registered provider. Unregistered bodies can, however, own and manage Shared Ownership homes. Unregistered bodies can sign up to the Housing Ombudsman Service on a voluntary basis.