The government has announced plans to provide £7 billion to expand its affordable housing programme.

Housing providers can now apply for a share of the fund, which was allocated an additional £1.4 billion in the Autumn Statement, to deliver 40,000 new affordable houses across the country.

Alongside this extra funding, the government is expanding the existing affordable homes programme to offer a wider range of ways of helping people into home ownership and to provide support for those who need affordable housing.

The money will be used to boost existing schemes and support the delivery of:

• Shared Ownership homes, providing a route into home ownership for those struggling with affordability

• Rent to Buy homes, helping first time buyers to save for a deposit to buy their home while they rent at discounted rates set at or below 80% of the local market rent for a set time period, giving tenants the opportunity to save for a deposit and then the option to buy their current home

• Affordable Rent homes, recognising that many of those who rent in the private rental sector need support to be able to afford market rents.

These schemes are primarily focused on households with lower than average incomes and who tend to struggle to save.

Homes and Communities Agency Chairman Sir Ed Lister said: “The expanded affordable housing programme will help us continue to work with both housing associations and developers new to this area of the housing market to increase the availability of affordable homes.”

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