Posted 23.09.20
Affordable Housing Commission: Further reading
The Affordable Housing Commission is calling on the government to prepare a National Housing Conversion Fund for England to help struggling tenants and drive the economic recovery.
A Conversion Fund - to enable social landlords and community-led housing groups to buy up private rented housing as well as homes for sale on stalled sites - could be put in place to mitigate the anticipated slump in prices and activity.
The report shows that buying up distressed private properties, especially in low value areas, could improve housing conditions and contribute to the government's strategic ambitions to level up the economy and reduce carbon emissions.
The £1.3bn Fund for England would make grants available to housing providers to purchase existing private rented properties and convert them into new social homes - at genuinely affordable rents.
The Fund would also be available for social landlords to acquire properties on stalled sites to kickstart development.
A headline cost benefit analysis shows the Fund would deliver 42,500 new social and affordable homes with the majority at social rents and generate 9,300 additional jobs.
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