Assessment criteria for the Council Housebuilding Support Fund
How applications to the Council Housebuilding Support Fund are assessed by Homes England.
Applies to England
Scope and purpose of the fund
The Council Housebuilding Support Fund aims to help councils:
- increase delivery of new-build, affordable homes, through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme from 2026 onwards — working directly or in partnership
- maximise the number of homes available for social rent
- ensure regional affordable housing priorities are delivered (in an established mayoral combined authority area) wherever possible
We are looking for applicants to demonstrate and evidence how their proposal relates to these aims.
We offer the following guidance on what we are looking for in relation to these aims:
Submitting bids for grant funding to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme from 2026 onwards
You must show how your application will support you to submit more ambitious, higher-quality bids for grant funding through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme from 2026, and to do so more quickly. You should show how your proposal will increase the number of new affordable homes you will be able to deliver, compared to your existing plans.
Your proposals should show the number of new affordable homes that can be delivered compared to existing plans.
Plans where activities are intended to unlock estate regeneration opportunities will be considered if there is a clear commitment and plan to increase the supply of new council housing.
We are keen to support plans for councils to deliver new affordable homes directly or in partnerships with other registered providers or developers.
Maximising the number of social rent homes delivered
We are looking for you to demonstrate how your proposal will lead to the delivery of homes for social rent.
Plans to deliver mixed-tenure schemes are acceptable where they can evidence local housing need.
Delivering regional housing priorities
Established mayoral combined authorities are able to set the strategic direction of any future affordable housing programmes including shaping the tenure and mix of a scheme and identifying priority sites.
We are looking for councils in these areas to demonstrate how their proposal will help them deliver the affordable housing priorities of that authority.
Assessment criteria
When making an application, councils are encouraged to show a clear link between proposed activities and their ability to create ambitious and high quality bids to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme from 2026 onwards.
Applications will be assessed to ensure the funding can deliver maximum impact.
The following criteria will be used:
- value for money
- deliverability
- strategic fit
Value for money
Proposals will be assessed on the basis of value for money to ensure the funding can deliver maximum impact.
To ensure the funding supports as many councils as possible, councils will be expected to maximise the use of their own funding to deliver their proposals.
Proposals need to show:
- total costs
- the amount of funding requested
- milestones and delivery timescales for spend associated with your proposals
- confirmation of the councils’ own funding and resources used to deliver activities and projects in addition to this funding
Deliverability
Funding is only available until 31 March 2026, so all milestones associated with the allocated funding must be achieved by this date. Early spend and delivery will be prioritised when assessing applications.
Additional weighting will be given to proposals that will support councils to submit bids to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme from 2026 early and deliver additional affordable homes before mid-2029.
Proposals need to show:
- a clear plan and milestones to deliver the activities described by and beyond 31 March 2026 including start and completion dates
- the councils’ capability and capacity to undertake the activities described, including any recent, relevant track record of delivery
- how and when the activities described will allow a bid for grant funding to the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026 onwards
- any risks to delivery and planned mitigations
Strategic fit
Proposals will be assessed to take account of the extent to which they deliver one or more of the aims of the funding described elsewhere in the guidance.
There will be a particular focus on proposals that will enable councils to meet the strategic objectives of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme 2026 onwards.
Proposals must show evidence of how activities will support the council to:
- increase the speed and scale at which they could bid for grant funding via the Social and Affordable Homes Programme from 2026 onwards, compared to existing plans
- plan for and meet the wider aims of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme from 2026 onwards
The proposals must clearly show the types of new affordable homes the activities are intended to support the planning for and delivery of.
Apply to the Council Housebuilding Support Fund
You can apply to the Council Housebuilding Support Fund online.
Updates to this page
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The Affordable Homes Programme is now known as the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
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First published.