Taking The Housing Shortage: Homes England’s Mission To Provide Better Accommodation And More Affordable Properties

The UK has, for a number of decades, been wallowing in a housing crisis. The population currently stands at around 67 million and is expected to reach around 71 million by the end of decade, so this is an issue that is only going to become more pronounced in the years to come.

Estimates released by the BBC’s Housing Briefing in February 2020 suggest that the UK has built 1.2 million fewer homes than should have been created, a figure which truly shows the scale of the issue to hand. This is, however, by no means the only factor that makes the current state of housing worthy of discussion.

It is also the case that housing is, for many people, unaffordable. Estimates from a 2019 survey by the National Housing Federation suggest that around 8.4 million people are currently living in either ‘unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable’ properties. Around 2.5 million people are estimated to be unable to afford their current rent or mortgage amount, while almost half a million – 400,000 – are at very serious risk of being made homeless in the near future.

These figures are significant, but even more of a concern when considering that the study only took into account England; were Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland also included, it is certain that this figure would be even higher.

It is clear, therefore, that change is required. Homes England is at the forefront of leading the drive to tackle this most pressing of challenges, but what exactly is being done, what are the timelines, and what is required to ensure the current plans are able to come to fruition?

The Homes England objective

The overarching goal of Homes England is to ensure that the current housing crisis comes to an end. It wants to guarantee that enough new homes are created, that they are affordable, that they are built to high environmental and construction standards, and that they are able to help people as soon as possible.

This is, of course, a very ambitious goal, and it requires a lot of planning, strategic thinking and also collaboration with local authorities, housing associations and also community groups. With specific reference to the housing associations, grants are going to play a key role, but what exactly are they and how can they be accessed?

Strategic grants

At the beginning of 2020 Homes England introduced a brand-new initiative so as to allow housing associations to receive nearly all (95 percent) of the grant funding that is available to them in one go. The remaining five percent will be handed once the associated housing project reaches its conclusion.

This tackles what has traditionally been one of the major hurdles to new housing: funding. The grants are now as a means of ensuring housing associations can bypass this issue, meaning that shared ownership properties and those that are deemed ‘affordable’ can be created. The ability to scope costs early, and guarantee payments to suppliers at the outset of any project, should give additional confidence to all parties involved.

Want to read more about the initiative and discover more about the grants themselves? Click here to find out more.