The Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme 2016 to 2021
The Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme 2016 to 2021 is intended to increase the supply of new shared ownership and affordable homes in England by March 2021.
Published on 13 April 2016 by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), it makes £4.7 billion of funding available to increase the supply of new shared ownership and affordable homes.
In the foreword, Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government wrote, "A Shared Ownership home allows the purchaser to buy a share in the equity while paying rent on the non-purchased share. For many people, this is a chance they didn’t have before to get on to the housing ladder – and to go on to purchase further slices of equity. Since 2011, nearly 41,000 affordable homes have been made available through Shared Ownership. Recognising the level of public demand, we want to greatly expand supply."
The £4.7bn of capital grant is intended to provide:
- 135,000 homes for Help to Buy: Shared Ownership;
- 10,000 homes for Rent to Buy; and
- 8,000 homes for supported and older people’s rental accommodation.
However, other than a 5% share of the funding available for specialist accommodation there is no provision for housing for rent. According to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) this “…marks the end of an era for the social housing sector and a decisive government shift towards support for home ownership.” ref Homes for rent dropped from government housing programme.
They suggest that housing associations that continue building for rent will now have to rely on partnership funding or private development finance.
In London, the Greater London Authority (GLA) will manage the scheme, and it is thought that building for rent will continue to be supported.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Affordable housing
- Affordable rented housing.
- Conservative party conference affordable housing.
- Help to buy.
- Homes and Communities Agency.
- Housing associations.
- Housing standards review.
- Intermediate housing.
- Laying the foundations: a housing strategy for England.
- Rent to buy.
- Right to buy.
- Right to rent.
- Shared ownership.
- Social housing.
- Social rented housing.
- Starter homes.
Featured articles and news
The Sustainability Pathfinder© Handbook
Built environment agency launches free Pathfinder© tool to help businesses progress sustainability strategies.
Government outcome to the late payment consultation, ECA reacts.
IHBC 2025 Gus Astley Student Award winners
Work on the role of hewing in UK historic conservation a win for Jack Parker of Oxford Brookes University.
Future Homes Building Standards and plug-in solar
Parts F and L amendments, the availability of solar panels and industry responses.
How later living housing can help solve the housing crisis
Unlocking homes, unlocking lives.
Preparing safety case reports for HRBs under the BSA
A new practical guide to preparing structural inputs for safety cases and safety case reports published by IStructE.
Male construction workers and prostate cancer
CIOB and Prostate Cancer UK encourage awareness of prostate cancer risks, and what to do about it.
The changed R&D tax landscape for Architects
Specialist gives a recap on tax changes for Research and Development, via the ACA newsletter.
Structured product data as a competitive advantage
NBS explain why accessible product data that works across digital systems is key.
Welsh retrofit workforce assessment
Welsh Government report confirms Wales faces major electrical skills shortage, warns ECA.
A now architectural practice looks back at its concept project for a sustainable oceanic settlement 25 years on.
Copyright and Artificial Intelligence
Government report and back track on copyright opt out for AI training but no clear preferred alternative as yet.
Embedding AI tools into architectural education
Beyond the render: LMU share how student led research is shaping the future of visualisation workflows.
Why document control still fails UK construction projects
A Chartered Quantity Surveyor explains what needs to change and how.
Inspiration for a new 2026 wave of Irish construction professionals.
New planning reforms and Warm Homes Bill
Take centre stage at UK Construction Week London.
A brief run down of changes intentions from April in an onwards.






















