Reduce text sizeIncrease text sizeDefault coloursImproved contrastHigh contrastThe Affordable Homes Programme 2011-15 (AHP) aims to increase the supply of new affordable homes in England.
Throughout 2011-15, we will invest £4.5bn in affordable housing through the Affordable Homes Programme and existing commitments from the previous National Affordable Housing Programme. The majority of the new programme will be made available as Affordable Rent with some for affordable home ownership, supported housing and in some circumstances, social rent.
In February 2013, we published details of how Providers can bid for a share of £225m to deliver additional affordable homes using the government's new Housing Guarantees Programme. This builds on the Affordable Homes Programme Framework (see below).
In January 2013, we published details of offers received for the Affordable Homes Programme, and funding to date, covering the period up to the end of December 2012, as follows:
In July 2011 we announced details of the successful bidders who we expect, subject to contract, to deliver 80,000 new affordable homes. We have also published details of signed contracts on a weekly basis:
The back loaded nature of the Affordable Homes Programme is likely to bring pressures of processing a significant number of valid claims in the final week and days of the month. The Q&A below are intended to assist in allowing early processing of key information, prior to the submission of an actual claim once the event has occurred. Providers are strongly encouraged to commence processing of the necessary stages for claims to be submitted at the earliest opportunity.
We have published the standard form of Framework Delivery Agreement which will form the basis of contractual agreements between the HCA and the Provider(s). There is a separate agreement for single Providers and for consortium Providers, inside and outside of London.
On 3 August 2011 and following a series of briefings and consultation with providers, we published the final standard form of the Ex-RSL Framework Delivery Agreement. We have also published a ‘delta view’ agreement to highlight changes made against the previous version published in July 2011.
If you have any questions please submit these to AHPFAQ@hca.gsi.gov.uk.
We have also published supporting guidance to aid providers and explain more fully our approach to the Framework Delivery Agreement.
A number of queries have arisen from registered providers, who will not have a Framework Delivery Agreement, regarding their options for delivering Affordable Rent units outside of the programme. The guidance below published jointly by the TSA and the HCA covers the requirements for delivery of new Affordable Rent homes, where those are not in receipt of funding from the HCA under the 2011-15 Affordable Homes Programme.
We previously published the standard form of Heads of Terms on which the Framework Delivery Agreement(s) are based.
The HCA has retained some funding for small community led organisations such as community land trusts or small rural groups and others, who were not in a position to bring forward proposals at the outset of the programme. For all other organisations the bidding process is now closed.
For further information on how the programme works please read the Framework document - PDF (473 KB) and supplementary information can be found in the frequently asked questions - PDF (72 KB) (updated 26/04/11).
Providers awarded with a grant allocation are required to confirm their programme baseline position by resubmitting their agreed standard offer template to AHPOffers@hca.gsi.gov.uk. Recognising that some offers have been scaled, we're republishing the template to allow providers to resubmit revised offers. This republished guidance will help providers fill in the standard offer template.
Organisations delivering programmes through the Affordable Homes Programme 2011-15 must be qualified as HCA Investment Partners. Guidance on the arrangements for Investment Partner qualification and how to apply, and the application form are available here:
For information purposes, the HCA has published maps of four indicators reflecting different aspects of housing need at local authority level:
The HCA is committed to working with all Providers to deliver housing that meets local priorities, and supports equality of opportunity for people. The guidance below is to help Providers meet the equalities requirements of the Framework and provides information about the HCA’s equality duties under the provisions of the Equality Act.
The HCA is committed to working with Providers to deliver housing that meets local priorities and meets the housing needs of all sections of our communities, including meeting the needs of vulnerable and older people in both mainstream and specialised housing. The guidance below provides additional information which may be useful for Investment Partners in preparing to submit packages which include supported housing or housing for older people and meet the needs of vulnerable and older people in mainstream housing.