HCA Affordable Homes Programme 2015-2018
In a second bidding phase announced by the HCA on 23 October, housing providers across England are invited to bid for a share of around £800 million Affordable Homes Programme funding, through their continuous market engagement approach. Included in this phase is supplementary information for those providers seeking to develop housing for vulnerable and older people (find links to the HCA prospectus and supplementary information at the bottom of this page).
Previously in July 2014, the government announced that the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) will be allocating £886 million to deliver a total of 43,821 new affordable homes by March 2018. While a couple of recognizable specialist providers of housing with care have received an allocation, the majority of grant funding has gone to mainstream housing providers to deliver the government's wider housing strategy. However, several mainstream providers also have care and support development portfolios and we are awaiting further information on whether any of their allocations include the development of housing for vulnerable and older people.
Details of the allocations in England (excluding London) can be found on the link to the HCA website below. Information on allocations in London, can be found on our Greater London Authority allocations' page (see tab on side bar).
Link: HCA allocations for 2015-18 Affordable Homes Programme (opens new window)
The Homes and Communities Agency launched their 2015-2018 prospectus inviting housing associations, councils, developers and others to bid for a share of up to £1.7bn of grant funding for delivery of new affordable housing outside London.
The prospectus made a number of references to attracting quality bids for supported housing and housing for older people. There was also helpful supplementary document which provided more detailed information on housing choices and specific design criteria for vulnerable and older people. This included details on affordable rented housing and mixed tenure options such as shared ownership and housing for home ownership, as well as information on making the case for remodelling existing provision and signposting to the HAPPI design criteria. Background information on the HCA programme can be found at: