A new government-backed “housing bank” is being established to boost the construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes
The National Housing Bank, a subsidiary of Homes England, will be publicly owned and act as a consistent partner to the private sector, bringing stability and certainty to housing developers and investors, the government said.
The National Housing Bank will be backed with £16bn of financial capacity, on top of £6bn of existing finance to be allocated this Parliament, in order to accelerate housebuilding and leverage in £53bn of additional private investment, creating jobs and delivering over 500,000 new homes.
The new approach will see Homes England, the national housing and regeneration agency, able to issue government guarantees directly and have greater autonomy and flexibility to make the long-term investments that are needed to reform the housing market and deliver strong returns.
With long-term, flexible capital, the National Housing Bank will not just be able to act as a consistent partner to the private sector, but will also support SMEs with new lending products and enable developers to unlock large, complex sites through infrastructure finance.
Deputy prime minister and housing secretary, Angela Rayner, said: “We‘re turning the tide on the housing crisis we inherited – whether that’s fixing our broken planning system, investing £39 billion to deliver more social and affordable homes, or now creating a National Housing Bank to lever in vital investment.
“This government is delivering reform and investing in Britain’s renewal through our Plan for Change. Our foot is firmly on the accelerator when it comes to making sure a generation is no longer locked out of homeownership – or ensuring children don’t have to grow up in unsuitable temporary accommodation, and instead have the safe and secure home they deserve.”
The Bank will deploy some of the £2.5bn in low-interest loans announced at the Spending Review to support build social and affordable homes.
It builds on £39bn investment announced at the Spending Review for a new 10-year Affordable Homes Programme, which is the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation, supporting our Plan for Change milestone to build 1.5 million homes.
This comes ahead of the government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy to be published tomorrow. The strategy will set out a £725bn plan to rebuild the UK over the coming decade, bringing together for the first time economic, social and housing infrastructure.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves commented: “Our Spending Review last week delivered the biggest cash injection into social and affordable housing in 50 years as we progress on our promise to build 1.5 million homes.
“As part of our Plan for Change, the new National Housing Bank will unlock £53bn of additional private investment – giving more working people the security of home ownership and investing in Britain’s renewal.”
The creation of this National Housing Bank, alongside the recent spending review and other policy announcements, is a huge boost for housing delivery, according to Paul Rickard, chief executive officer, Pocket Living.
He stated: “We particularly welcome the recognition of the importance of SME developers with one of the banks focus’ being new funding options for SMEs and the freedom for the public and private sector to innovate together to deliver more homes. We have been working closely with government to ensure that the SME sector has capacity, certainty, and flexibility and we are delighted this is now being delivered.”
Stephen Teagle, CEO, Partnerships & Regeneration, Vistry Group, added: “This announcement underlines the government’s commitment to use all the tools available to drive delivery and tackle the housing crisis head-on.
“Establishing the new National Housing Bank as a subsidiary of Homes England will help bring schemes forward at pace, ensure alignment with other programmes and gain traction with developers and investors keen to leverage investment and drive delivery. It recognises that long-term place making and long-term investment go hand in hand.
“Paired with last week’s measures this is further evidence of a government with an innovative and clear-sighted focus on addressing the years of under supply of new homes to build vibrant communities for the future.”
