Council’s new housing company to build 500 affordable homes per year

Council’s new housing company to build 500 affordable homes per year

A report outlining the intention to establish a new housing company that will accelerate the delivery of affordable housing in the city will be considered by the Council’s executive committee.

The proposal for a Council-owned housing development company was agreed in principle by the Council’s executive in March with the aim of increasing the number of multi-tenure, sustainable, high-quality homes for lower-income families. 

Manchester’s ambitious home building target will see at least 32,000 homes built in the city between 2015 and 2025 – 6,400 (or 20%) will be affordable to Manchester residents. 

Since 2015, 13,259 homes have been completed in the city – however, forecasting suggests that without intervention, the city may fall short of its affordable homes target, despite various successful partnerships with the city’s registered providers where Council land is invested for affordable housing. 

A local housing delivery company will ensure a continued supply of affordable homes at or below Local Housing Allowance (LHA) levels, with the potential to deliver 2,000 homes (500 per year) up to 2025 – helping the Council to meet its affordable homes delivery target by 2025.

The company will be required to:

  • Delivery at least 500 homes per year
  • Deliver a mix of affordable homes and market homes (with the latter helping to subsidise the affordable homes.)
  • Allow the Council to investment land and Right To Buy receipts 

A report outlining the delivery model for the company – either Joint Venture or wholly-owned development company – will be returned to the Council’s executive for consideration  in the coming months. 

Cllr Suzanne Richards, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration, said “Our affordable housing target is ambitious by design because we know that as our population continues to grow that we will need to match that growth with high-quality new homes that Manchester people can afford. 

“It’s vital that we innovate and change the way we think about housing delivery to ensure we can meet demand and the needs of our residents. 

“Bringing an element of affordable housing development in-house will help us meet the housing needs of Manchester people using our own land and with a clear focus on sustainable, low-cost, zero-carbon housing.”

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