Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) 2026 to 2036
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Following Homes England’s recent publication of the SAHP Prospectuses and Guidance, we take a brief look at the key elements of the new programme.
Purpose and scale
The SAHP is a 10‑year, capital grant programme intended to deliver the largest increase in social and affordable housing supply in a generation while improving the long‑term quality and safety of homes. The Spending Review in June 2025 allocated £39 billion across the decade from 2026–27 to 2035–36, with an expectation that annual spend will increase to around £4 billion by 2029–30.
The programme targets large-scale delivery while prioritising social rent, council housebuilding and a wider mix of housing types that meet community needs, including the elderly and supported housing. The Government expects that the switch to a 10-year programme will provide certainty that helps to rebuild the sector’s capacity to borrow and invest, and ultimately lead to lower borrowing costs for registered providers.
Strategic priorities
The programme combines large‑scale supply targets with sector renewal objectives: raise housebuilding volumes, rebuild borrowing capacity for providers, stabilise regulation, reinvigorate council housebuilding, and strengthen partnerships with the sector to enable delivery at scale.
The prospectus and guidance set a programme priority that at least 60 percent of new supply should be prioritised for social rent, roughly 180,000 new homes. There is also a pledge to increase direct council delivery and strengthen local partnerships to meet strategic housing need with an aim of achieving measurable social value through tenancy sustainment, reduced pressure on health and social care, and local economic benefits.
Eligible schemes, delivery routes and priority housing types
The guidance confirms a range of eligible schemes and delivery routes:
- New Build: general needs social and affordable homes for families and individuals
- Acquisition and Off-the-shelf purchases: to bring completed homes into affordable tenures.
- Regeneration and conversion: estate renewals and conversions where schemes deliver net new homes and clear value for money.
- Community led and rural housing models: that increase local control and affordability.
- Specialist & Supported Housing: including supported housing for people with complex needs, with a focus on tenancy sustainment.
- Elderly housing: spanning sheltered, retirement living and extra care options to support independent living and reduce pressure on acute services.
Bidding priorities and assessment
The assessment of bids will continue to prioritise value for money, strategic fit with local needs, and demonstrable deliverability.
There will be a strong preference for programmes that: deliver social rent; evidence compliance with explicit energy, quality and safety standards linked to the updated Decent Homes expectations; demonstrate partnership agreements with local authorities and health commissioners; separate capital and ongoing (recurrent) support funding where relevant; and include robust management, safeguarding and tenancy sustainment plans.
Conclusion
The SAHP is designed to increase the long‑term supply of social and affordable homes, raise the quality and safety of the housing stock through targeted investment, restore provider balance sheets and borrowing capacity, and create predictable long‑term grant funding to enable strategic, large‑scale projects by councils and housing associations.
The programme will be widely welcomed by the sector; however, the competing financial pressures facing registered providers, including the new Decent Homes standard, ongoing building and fire safety obligations and the costs associated with compliance under Awaab’s Law, make the programme targets challenging.