A Decade Of Affordable Homes Begins. Will Rural England See The Benefit?

The government has launched the full details of its new Social and Affordable Homes programme (2026–2036) described as the biggest boost to social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

Worth £39 billion, the decade-long programme aims to deliver around 300,000 affordable homes, including 180,000 for social rent. For the first time, regional mayors outside London will shape how affordable housing funds are spent in their areas, influencing priorities and identifying key sites for development.

Six mayoral regions; Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, the North East, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Liverpool City Region will collectively steer £7 billion of the funding, supported by a £150 million brownfield regeneration package and a new £2.5 billion low-interest loan scheme for housing providers.

The government says the programme will give councils and registered providers long-term certainty to plan new developments, tackle homelessness and modernise existing housing. New flexibilities will also allow councils to combine Right to Buy receipts with grant funding and pursue larger, portfolio-based bids through Homes England.

While the programme promises “a decade of renewal” for social and affordable housing, the RSN notes that much of England’s rural heartland sits outside Mayoral Combined Authorities, raising questions about how these areas will access equivalent investment and influence.

Affordable housing in rural communities is often more expensive to deliver due to small-scale, remote sites and infrastructure costs. The programme acknowledges this, stating that grant flexibility will support higher-cost rural and community-led developments but without specific rural targets or ringfenced allocations, the extent of that support remains unclear.

The RSN welcomes the inclusion of rural delivery within the programme’s guidance and the recognition of higher build costs in remote areas. However, we continue to press for fair access to housing investment for non-mayoral areas, ensuring smaller local authorities and rural housing associations can compete on a level playing field.

This aligns with RSN’s Delivering for All campaign, which calls for national programmes and funding formulas to recognise rural disadvantage and the higher costs of building and maintaining affordable homes in rural communities.

Kerry Booth, Chief Executive, Rural Services Network: It is encouraging to see such a strong national focus on affordable and social housing after years of under-supply, and we welcome the flexibility for rural and community-led schemes built into the new programme. However, we are concerned that the heavy emphasis on mayoral areas risks leaving non-devolved parts of rural England without a clear route to influence or access this investment. To truly deliver for all, the government must ensure that rural councils and housing providers outside combined authority areas can bid effectively and that rural communities receive a fair share of this decade-long funding commitment.