Respond could triple number of homes in construction under new funding changes

Approved housing body

(AHB)

Respond has welcomed the government’s announcement on funding changes for building cost rental homes.

The AHB has said it can triple the number of social and cost rental homes it has in construction to over 4,100 in the coming months. The organisation currently has 1,396 homes in construction. Supported by local authorities, Respond has secured fixed-price contracts with major developers and construction firms. It says it can vastly increase its social and cost rental homes in construction, subject to government support. These comments were made welcoming the government’s latest housing initiative regarding cost rental equity loan (CREL), which enables AHBs to deliver cost-rental homes.

Niamh Randall, spokesperson for Respond, expressed the organisation’s support for the initiative, commenting, “We are excited about the potential as we prepare to break ground on several large-scale developments that will deliver thousands of new homes for people who urgently need them. We have been working in the background on this for some time, today’s announcements look very promising, and we are looking forward to receiving more detail.”

She added, “We could triple the number of social and cost rental homes we have in construction up to 4,100, subject to greater clarity and the workability of the new scheme. People urgently need the security of a place to call home, and they don’t have the time to wait.

Randall also said that Respond had secured fixed-price contracts with a number of developers and contractors. “We have secured fixed price contracts with major developers and construction firms, in principle, supported at the highest level in local authorities,” she added, “We have been working closely with the state for some time now to help develop a sustainable and replicable cost rental model for the AHB sector, which could more deliver affordable cost rental homes in areas where they are most needed.”