🏠 Explainer: Homes England Opens Bidding for the 2026–2036 Social and Affordable Homes Programme

Homes England has opened bidding for the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) 2026–2036, a decade long funding scheme designed to increase the supply of social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership homes across England. The programme forms part of the government's wider £39 billion investment in social and affordable housing, with at least £27 billion delivered through Homes England.

Ministers frame SAHP as delivering the "biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation" while establishing new requirements that at least 60% of funded homes must be for social rent, signalling a policy shift towards the most affordable tenure.

🏗️ What the Programme Aims to Achieve

The government and Homes England frame SAHP as a major expansion of affordable housing delivery addressing persistent supply shortages and affordability challenges across England.

Core Policy Objectives

The programme is intended to deliver comprehensive housing outcomes:

• Increase social rent supply: Prioritising lowest cost tenure through 60% minimum requirement
• Support mixed tenure developments: Integrating different housing types in single developments
• Maintain high quality standards: Design, safety and sustainability requirements
• Align with local needs: Coordinating new housing with local strategies and demand
• Provide long term certainty: Multi year planning horizons for providers

Government Housing Strategy Integration

SAHP connects with broader government housing commitments:

📋 Two Bidding Routes Available

Homes England has established two distinct pathways for organisations to access SAHP funding, designed to accommodate different provider scales and delivery approaches.

1. Continuous Market Engagement (CME)

CME provides flexible access for scheme by scheme bidding:

• Rolling access: Continuous application opportunities throughout programme duration
• Scheme specific bidding: Individual project applications rather than bulk allocations
• Local responsiveness: Flexibility to respond to changing housing needs and opportunities
• Ongoing certainty: Clear grant availability throughout programme period
• Smaller provider access: Suitable for organisations with limited development pipelines

2. Strategic Partnership Framework

Strategic partnerships target large scale, high pace delivery:

Updated Bidding Guidance

Homes England has published comprehensive guidance addressing:

• Programme requirements: Detailed expectations and assessment criteria
• Application processes: Step by step guidance for both bidding routes
• Quality standards: Design, sustainability, and safety specifications
• Value for money frameworks: Cost effectiveness assessment methodology
• Delivery milestones: Timeline expectations and progress monitoring

🏘️ Key Changes from Previous Programmes

SAHP introduces significant modifications compared with the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021–2026, reflecting lessons learned and evolving policy priorities.

Programme Structure Changes

The new programme addresses previous structural limitations:

Policy Emphasis Shifts

The programme reflects changing government priorities:

• Stronger social rent focus: 60% minimum represents significant increase from previous programmes
• Greater sustainability emphasis: Updated environmental and climate resilience standards
• Enhanced quality expectations: Clearer design and safety specifications
• Improved value for money frameworks: More sophisticated cost effectiveness assessments
• Flexible delivery models: Accommodating different provider capabilities and local contexts

🌍 Structural Challenges Shaping Housing Delivery

SAHP is being launched amid multiple structural pressures that affect both housing supply and household ability to afford new homes, creating complex delivery challenges that extend beyond traditional housing policy.

Labour Market and Affordability Pressures

Declining job vacancies and employment uncertainty affect housing demand:

Grid Capacity and Infrastructure Constraints

Delivering hundreds of thousands of new homes requires major electricity grid upgrades:

• Heat pump infrastructure: Electrification of heating requiring significant capacity increases
• EV charging preparation: Anticipating widespread electric vehicle adoption
• Renewable energy integration: Grid modernisation for distributed generation
• Connection timescales: Infrastructure upgrades affecting development timing
• Cost implications: System wide upgrades funded through consumer bills and investment frameworks

Even without the transition to low carbon heating, new housing developments require significant grid reinforcement, and these costs can influence:

• Connection timescales for new developments
• Local infrastructure charges passed through planning obligations
• Household energy bills, as system wide upgrades are funded through a mix of consumer bills and investment frameworks

The scale of development anticipated under SAHP means grid capacity will remain a central issue for local planning authorities, distribution network operators and developers.

Climate Risk and Land Use Planning

New homes continue to be built in areas with known flood risk, including locations where flooding is currently being reported. This reflects long standing pressures on land availability, particularly in regions with high housing demand.

📍 Regional Housing Market Variations

Housing pressures vary significantly across England, meaning SAHP impact will differ substantially between regions and local areas.

South East and South West Pressures

High demand regions face acute affordability challenges:

• House price to earnings ratios: Severe affordability gaps relative to local wages
• Limited social rent availability: Long waiting lists and high demand for affordable tenures
• Infrastructure constraints: Grid capacity and transport links limiting development
• Land availability: High competition for suitable development sites
• Economic migration: Workers moving to access employment affecting local demand

North and Midlands Challenges

Some regions in the North and Midlands face slower population growth or economic transition, affecting the viability of large scale developments

These regional differences shape both the opportunities and the constraints for delivering new social and affordable homes

Infrastructure and Risk Mapping

Regional differences in infrastructure readiness and flood risk shape delivery opportunities:

• Grid capacity variations: Some areas better prepared for electrification than others
• Flood risk concentration: River valleys and coastal areas facing particular challenges
• Transport connectivity: Access to employment centres affecting housing demand
• Planning policy differences: Local authority approaches to balancing housing and environment
• Economic base diversity: Employment resilience affecting long term housing viability

Conclusion: Ambition Within Constraints

The Social and Affordable Homes Programme represents the most significant commitment to social housing delivery in over a decade, providing £27 billion over ten years with clear priorities for social rent and mixed tenure development. The programme addresses genuine need and offers providers long term funding certainty essential for strategic planning.

The 60% social rent requirement signals a meaningful policy shift towards the most affordable tenure, recognising that market housing costs have moved beyond reach for increasing numbers of households. The flexible bidding routes accommodate different provider scales and capabilities, while strategic partnerships enable ambitious delivery programmes.

However, housing delivery operates within structural constraints that extend beyond traditional housing policy. Grid capacity limitations, flood risk pressures, labour market uncertainty, and regional economic variations all affect where, when, and how new homes can be built. These challenges require coordinated government action across multiple departments and policy areas.

The programme's ten year duration provides opportunity for sustained delivery but also creates political sustainability risks. Electoral cycles, Spending Review pressures, and changing policy priorities could affect long term funding commitment. Success requires maintaining focus through inevitable political changes and economic fluctuations.

Most critically, SAHP success cannot be measured solely in homes delivered but must consider housing affordability, regional balance, climate resilience, and contribution to broader social and economic objectives. The programme provides essential resources, but delivery depends on workforce capacity, infrastructure readiness, planning system efficiency, and markets that enable people to afford new homes.

The scale of ambition is clear and necessary. Whether SAHP delivers transformational change depends on sustained political commitment, coordinated policy implementation, and recognition that housing challenges require comprehensive responses addressing supply, affordability, infrastructure, and employment together.