Guidance

Recycled Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) annual return — guide for providers

Published 20 April 2026

Applies to England

This guide is to assist registered providers in the completion of an annual Recycled Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) return on the digital system — currently the Investment Management System (IMS).

This guide relates only to the annual reporting of RCGF outside of London. The Greater London Authority has separate arrangements in place for reporting RCGF.

Who should complete an annual RCGF return

Registered providers are required to complete an annual RCGF return where any of the following apply:

• funds are credited to the RCGF during the financial year
• funds are debited from the RCGF during the financial year
• funds are repaid to Homes England during the financial year
• funds are transferred during the financial year
• a transfer of engagements takes place
• a balance of RCGF is held on account from the previous financial year (but no new activity is reported for the current financial year)

System requirements

Your organisation must be set up on the IMS. Your security administrator will be able to confirm individual registration details.

Guidance is available on how to access and use the IMS and get support. You can also find out how to register for, or make changes to, IMS accounts.

Create an RCGF annual return

1. Log into IMS.

2. Select ‘Other Functions’, then select ‘RCGF’.

3. Select the year your annual return relates to (this will be 2026 for the year ending 31 March 2026).

If an RCGF annual return for the year you have selected does not exist

You must confirm you want to create a new RCGF annual return.

Select ‘Yes’ to create the return. The first screen will then be displayed showing contact details.

If an RCGF annual return for the year you have selected exists

Your existing RCGF annual return will be displayed.

Navigation in the IMS

The RCGF annual return consists of 7 screens.

Use the arrow buttons to move between screens.

Screens you have previously viewed minimise at the bottom of the window and can be reopened.

Each screen must be completed, ticked, and saved before the ‘Certification’ screen becomes available. Ticking a screen locks it. Only unticked screens can be edited.

The system performs a validation check upon saving. All error messages must be cleared before you can submit them.

Toolbar icons

Save and close

Saves the return and closes the screen.

Exit

Returns to the system manager screen.

Cut

Standard editing function.

Copy

Standard editing function.

Paste

Standard editing function.

Print

Prints the return.

Create or reopen

Creates or reopens the return for the selected year.

Forward

Moves forward to the next screen.

Back

Moves back to the previous screen.

Complete your RCGF annual return screen-by-screen

General details (screen 1)

Organisation details will auto-populate from existing IMS records.

If details are not populated or incorrect you must enter:

• contact name
• job title
• direct phone number (switchboard numbers are not permitted)
• direct email (shared inbox email addresses are not permitted)

Financial details (screen 2)

The financial year for the RCGF return runs from 1 April to 31 March, which may be different to your organisation’s financial year.

Inputs

Inputs are recorded in rows A to H. You must:

• record all RCGF inputs for the financial year
• add comments where required, including:
  
  
  • NSAP, RSAP, SHAP (in rows D to F) — provide details of the property originally funded
  • interest (in row G) — state interest rates used in calculation or why none applied
  • prior year adjustments (in row H) — explain the reason for the adjustment
  • transfers in from other registered providers (in row C) — identify the exporting registered provider or registered providers — the age of funds does not reset

The Total Inputs (row I) auto calculates based on the details provided.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals are recorded in rows J to Z8. You must:

• record all recycled grant that has been spent or transferred during the financial year
• make sure withdrawals only reflect RCGF (new grant is already reflected in the relevant IMS scheme details)
• add comments, where require, including:
  
  
  • priority uses (in rows J, L, N, P) — state the scheme ID, offer line ID, or strategic partner site ID where RCGF is contributing to a Homes England programme
  • NSAP, RSAP, SHAP (in rows R to T) — provide property details where funds were reapplied
  • permitted uses (in rows W, X, Y, Z0, Z1, Z2, Z7) require explicit Homes England approval — state who approved the permitted uses and the approval date and email RCGF@homesengland.gov.uk if you did not seek prior approval
  • prior year adjustments (in row Z8) — explain reason for the adjustment
  • transfers out to other registered providers (in row Z4) — identify the recipient registered provider or registered providers — the age of funds does not reset
  • repayments to Homes England (in row Z5) — provide the date the payment is made to Homes England.

Strategic Partner rules

Only contracted Strategic Partners and approved in group Delivery Partners may use:

• RCGF used for Strategic Partnership delivery (row Z3)
• Remaining Strategic Partnership RCGF balance (row AA)

Out of group Delivery Partners must not use these rows and RCGF balances are subject to the standard 3-year rule.

Closing balance

The closing balance (row Z9) is auto calculated based on all inputs and withdrawals.

The RCGF split across different rows (rows AB to AL + row AA) must match the total closing balance.

Ageing of RCGF (rows AB to AL + AM)

Row AA — the amount of RCGF ringfenced for strategic partners in row AA is not currently monitored for age. This may be subject to change. All providers are expected to be able to determine the age of recycled grant held if requested.

The system carries forward RCGF values from the previous year’s return, into the prior year column for comparison (rows AB to AL).

Rows AB to AL — the amount of RCGF held in each age bracket must be entered manually.

Requests to hold RCGF beyond 3 years must be supported by a business case.

Analysis of Inputs (screen 3)

RCGF credits are grouped by type of input. Record the number of transactions by type and the amount of grant credited.

Check number of units sold by input type matches total units sold.

The Total RCGF credit on the input screen, must match row B on the Financial Details screen.

Analysis of Housing Completions (screen 4)

Housing funded with RCGF outside a Home’s England programme must be recorded on this screen.

You must:

• make sure values correspond with rows K, M, O or Q on the financial details screen
• include full address, postcode, and the number of units
• select the supported housing status — SUP for Supported or N-SUP for Not supported
• select the appropriate property code — NB for New Build or RH for Rehab
• provide full scheme cost breakdown and contributions must total 100% of the scheme costs (OPS refers to Other Public Subsidy which excludes AHG, SOAHP funding or similar)

Statement of intentions (screen 5)

You must set out plans for how and when RCGF will be used. Where possible, this should demonstrate forward planning for the entire balance held.

At least 20 characters must be entered.

Homes England will review alignment with national and local priorities.

Certification and submission (screen 6)

You must:

• tick all screens as complete before progressing to the certification screen
• accept all certification statement
• make sure you have appropriate system permissions to submit an RCGF return
• complete the Late Submission Comment box if you are making a late submission

Once submitted, the system generates a message to confirm your RCGF annual return has been successfully submitted.

Officer comments (screen 7)

This screen is completed by Homes England once all checks have been completed.

Amending an annual RCGF return

Before the submission deadline, users with submit rights can untick and edit information.

After the submission deadline, Homes England must un-submit the return to allow edits to be made.

Submission deadline

You must submit your RCGF annual return by 30 June 2026.

Next steps

Homes England will use the contact details provided for any queries on the return.

Homes England will confirm once the RCGF annual return has been signed off.

In exceptional circumstances, such as failure to comply with the administrative requirements, Homes England may determine that a registered provider is unable to operate a RCGF.

External audit

Registered providers must keep a record of RCGF balances and transactions in their annual financial accounts for disclosure to external auditors.

It is recommended that registered providers take and keep screen captures of the submitted RCGF annual return.

Contact Homes England

For queries relating to this guidance or recycled grant, email RCGF@homesengland.gov.uk.