Financing homebuilding and regeneration
Guidance on economic appraisals, delivery mechanisms, how to source funding for your project, the procurement process, partnerships and financial viability.
Homes England are committed to working with public and private-sector partners to find solutions to overcome housing challenges.
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Funding
Guidance on government-funded grants and loans, and examples of how funds have benefited homebuilders’ projects.
One Public Estate (OPE) has developed the Brownfield Land Release Fund to build homes on derelict and underused brownfield land.
The United Kingdom Debt Management Office (UKDMO) has developed guidance on the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) lending facility, and its provision of loans to local authorities and other specified bodies for capital projects.
The United Trust Bank has provided an overview of their Housing Accelerator Fund in partnership with Homes England. It’s designed to improve financial support for small and medium-sized house builders and developers, providing construction loans between £1 million and £10 million.
Invest and Fund have developed their headline offer in partnership with Homes England, with loans from £400,000 up to £4 million.
The Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) invests in projects to deliver social impact through partnership, taking on numerous housing tenures and deal structures to support their partners.
Newstead Capital provide lending opportunities in private debt and their £80 million Real Estate Lending Fund was created alongside a £30 million investment from Homes England, with the aim to provide loan capital to the small and medium-sized enterprise residential housebuilding sector.
Watch these Homes England videos aimed at new users of the Investment Management System (IMS), which is an online portal for submitting bids for and claiming grant funding.
Economic appraisal
Guidance on economically appraising your project and getting a good deal from public expenditure.
The Northern Ireland Department of Finance has published guidance on economic appraisal and when it’s required.
The Construction Innovation Hub’s Value Toolkit Resource Library is a downloadable resource that provides guidance on value-based decision-making.
The National Housing Federation (NHF) has guidance on the importance of social value for residents, what social value is and how to measure it.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has several publications on economic analysis, development property valuation, real estate management and planning.
Financial viability
Guidance on determining if your project is financially viable, including key viability principles, how to carry out a viability assessment, cost modelling and information on how to undertake a development appraisal.
Watch these Homes England videos on viability and development appraisals:
- A Guide to Viability and Development Appraisals
- Development Appraisals and Viability
- Viability and Development Appraisals for Affordable Housing
Public Practice has developed guidance to help authorities increase their capacity to assess development viability.
They have also published a net profit value calculator, which shows the effects that different inputs and estimates of development costs and related factors will have on the outputs.
Knight Frank’s UK Residential Market Update provides information on the housing sector, assessing its performance and providing analysis of economic trends.
Costmodelling has developed guidance on the typical construction costs of buildings.
Cost estimation
Guidance on what cost estimation is, principles for cost estimating best practices, and processes you should follow to produce robust and transparent cost estimates.
Delivery mechanisms
Guidance on delivery models, land value capture, requirements for strategic partnerships with Homes England, and registering and de-registering as a provider of social housing.
You will also find information on place-based approaches to delivery, what contract documents for suppliers look like, selecting appropriate building contracts for your development, and information on the purchase and repair scheme.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has resources to help you select the most appropriate building contract for a small domestic project.
Notting Hill Genesis has guidance on the purchase and repair scheme, applicable to any local authority or housing provider.
Watch this Homes England video on place-based approaches to delivery.
Delivery Partner Dynamic Purchasing System
Guidance on how to use the Delivery Partner Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), how to apply for it and how your application is processed.
Procurement
Guidance on different technical and professional frameworks, public procurement policy and various contractual conditions for goods and services.
You can also find further guidance on sourcing and contracting public works, as well as information on tendering.
The Crown Commercial Service has commercial agreements you can access to support your project:
- Offsite Construction Solutions – public sector access to the design, fabrication, physical delivery, construction or installation and maintenance of prefabricated buildings
- Construction Professional Services Dynamic Purchasing System – access for central government and wider public-sector organisations to buy a range of expert professional and technical construction services
- Housing Maintenance and Repair – access for central government and wider public-sector organisations to buy housing maintenance and repair services
The London Housing Consortium (LHC) has frameworks for local authorities, social landlords and other public sector bodies to build, refurbish and maintain social housing and public property more efficiently.
The Housing Forum has published guidance on improving design and construction quality, avoiding mistakes and managing risks.
Watch this Homes England video for an overview of Homes England’s technical frameworks.
The Find A Tender service is the UK-wide notice service for public procurement.
Last updated 21 August 2023 + show all updates
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Added the Affordable Homes evaluation scoping report to the Funding section, and removed reference to Designing Buildings under Procurement.
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Text for Designing Buildings in the Delivery Mechanisms section removed.
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A link to the Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Fund guidance page has been added to the collection under 'Funding'.
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First published.