Rishi Sunak set forth the National Home Building Fund (NHBF) in today’s Spending Review, which brings the government’s total investment in building homes to £19.3bn.

Some £7.1bn will be allocated to the delivery of 860,000 homes under the NHBF and are set to be delivered over the next four years, in addition to the 180,000 which will be constructed under the £12.2bn Affordable Homes Scheme by March 2026.

The Chancellor said that £4.8bn of the investment will be put towards capital grant funding for land remediation, infrastructure investment and land assembly.

A further £2.2bn of new loan finance will be used to support housebuilders to deliver properties Help to Build for custom and self-build purposes, as well as provide funding for SMEs and modern methods of construction.

Additionally, £100m will be allocated to non-Mayoral Combined Authorities in 2021-22 to support housing delivery and regeneration. This will include the regeneration of brownfield sites, the restoration of estates and the release of public sector land.

Support for homeowners and tenants

There will also be an increase in the Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and housing benefit claimants so the money received covers the lowest third of local rents.

This is expected to provide nearly £1bn in additional support for private renters claiming Universal Credit or housing benefits in 2020-21, helping over one million households.

Additionally, the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme has been extended with £320m allocated for 2021-22. The grant, which allows homeowners to apply for up to £5,000 to make their homes greener, was announced in May and originally set to end in March 2021.

Some £150m will be provided to help low income households make their homes more energy efficient and a further £60m will be invested in the retrofitting of social housing. 

Sunak said: “As we invest billions in the building of new homes, we’re also simplifying our planning system to ensure beautiful homes are built where they are needed most.

“The spending review announced today sets us on a path to deal with the material matters of government and it is a clear statement of our priorities but encouraging the individual and community brilliance on which a thriving society depends, remains, as ever, a work unfinished.”