Community Housing Fund

Phase two

This fund has now closed

Community Housing Fund - phase two

The second phase of the £163m Community Housing Fund was launched by Homes England on the 17 September 2018.

Area: England (except London)

Amount: Unlimited (but proposals will need to berealistic and viable)

Type: Capital funding

Open to: Eligible organisations include registered charities, companies limited by guarantee, community benefit societies, community interest companies and other organisations operating as social enterprises. Local authorities and Registered Providers may also apply and community organisations can also ask them to do so on their behalf.

Deadline: December 2019

What are they looking for?

  • Homes England are looking to fund genuine community led housing organisations. Organisations must be constituted as a body corporate - or have the intention of becoming one. There are grants available to groups that need financial support with incorporation costs, if you're a CLT click here and for all other community led housing groups click here. 
     
  • Homes England expect groups to fund at least 10% of their project through other means. Have a good look through the other funding options that we've set out on this website.
     
  • The Fund has been designed to fund homes that would not have been delivered otherwise. This means Homes England will not award funding to projects that are likely to proceed without funding (e.g. through the use of Section 106 money).
     
  • Your project must be deliverable, Homes England will not fund schemes that are a high risk. Work with your local hub or technical adviser to make sure all the costs stack up and the project is feasible. 

What will they fund?

Phase two funding is available to support the capital costs of help cover the capital costs of acquiring land and building community led housing schemes. Eligible uses of the grant include:

  • the construction of new homes and conversion/refurbishment of existing properties; including acquisition and/or remediation of land for development
  • the acquisition of existing properties for conversion or refurbishment.

Homes England will fund a wide range of tenures, as long you can demonstrate the homes are needed locally and will remain affordable in perpetuity. This can include:

  • Discounted Market Value with a Resale Price Covenant 
  • Shared Ownership
  • Social Rent
  • Affordable Rent
  • Rent to Buy

What you need to know

  • To build homes for low-cost rents your organisation will need to be a registered provider

If you apply for the capital funding in phase two and want to provide homes for rents below market levels – whether social rent, affordable rent, living rent or something else – you will need to either become an RP, or partner with an RP. The latter means the RP actually has to be the landlord – e.g. they have a long lease from the community led housing group and tenants have their contracts with the RP. You're not able to just work with an RP in a looser sense, like appointing one as a managing agent or development partner.

  • Your organisation will not need to be a registered provider if you are building homes for sale

If you're applying for capital funding to finance the build/renovation of homes for some form of home ownership, like shared ownership or discounted market value with a resale price covenant, you will not need to be a registered provider.

How to apply 

Read the full Community Housing Fund prospectus here.

The Prospectus sets out the assessment criteria for bids covering value for money, deliverability and the strategic fit with the aims of the CHF. To apply you must submit details via the Homes England bidding portal: https://bids.homesengland.org.uk