The Ministry of housing Communities and Local Government (MCHLG) has updated its information about the Home Building Fund, a flexible source of funding administered by Homes England on behalf of the government.
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… two types of finance, which we can tailor to your circumstances…
… we will consider smaller loans for innovative housing solutions…
Government UK writes:
The Home Building Fund is a flexible source of funding administered by Homes England on behalf of the government.
It provides two types of finance, which we can tailor to your circumstances.
Development loans
These are:
- for meeting the development costs of building homes for sale or rent
- to be taken out over 5 years
- to be drawn down to 31 March 2023
Infrastructure loans
These are:
- to prepare the site for the infrastructure needed for housing to progress and land to be prepared
- to be taken out over 20 years
- to be drawn down to 31 March 2025
Infrastructure projects must ultimately lead to the development of new housing.
Example projects
We want to encourage innovation, both in the kind of homes that are built and the way they are delivered.
Projects you might need funding for could include:
- community-led housing projects
- serviced plots for custom and self-builders
- off-site manufacturing
- new entrants to the market
- groups of small firms working together to deliver larger sites
Who is eligible
If you are a private sector organisation you may be eligible if:
- you are planning on building more than five homes
- you have already purchased a site in England that you have majority control of
- your project may stall or progress much less quickly without this loan
- you are a UK registered corporate entity
You also need to have a clear route to getting planning consent when we make the loan offer.
We cannot fund projects where we think there is an unjustified use of leasehold for new houses.
If the eligibility criteria changes
The Home Building Fund’s eligibility criteria may be updated from time to time to reflect government priorities. Should changes to the eligibility criteria for the Home Building Fund be required we would not be obliged to consult with you about them.
How the fund works
All our lending requires appropriate security and loans are typically secured against property assets.
The key features of the fund are:
- loans of £250,000 to £250 million are available
- we will consider smaller loans for innovative housing solutions and serviced plots for custom builders
- interest is payable at transparent, pre-agreed variable rates
- sales income can be recycled to minimise the loan request
- we will consider subordinated lending
- eligible costs will be discussed with each applicant and depend on the type of funding requested
The fund provides loan finance but we will also consider other forms of financial support. We are an investor in the Housing Growth Partnership which provides equity capital directly for residential development projects.
We also have an investment partnership with Barclays, to provide residential development debt funding to build more homes more quickly. For more information contact 0800 015 1921.
How we prioritise applications
As a government backed initiative, the Home Building Fund also reflects wider government priorities. We are looking for, and will approve applications based on:
- the best value for money for the taxpayer
- projects that focus on areas of highest affordability pressures
- the greatest potential for early delivery
- clear local support
- projects that support policy priorities such as strengthening the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) developer market, brownfield development and diversification and innovation in the housing market
- projects that support wider government housing priorities, such as estate regeneration, garden villages and towns and making use of available public sector land
