Greater Manchester is to receive £529 million from a £10 billion pot of funding allocated by Prime Minister Andy Burnham to build thousands of affordable homes. The money forms part of the first wave of Labour's £39bn 10-year Social and Affordable Homes Programme, aimed at moving families out of temporary accommodation and off housing waiting lists.
Funding allocations announced
The allocations will go to regional mayors, councils, housing associations and other providers to spend on building 'genuinely affordable homes', the Prime Minister said. Around 60pc of the more than 70,000 properties funded through the allocations are expected to be social rent. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the Greater Manchester share is expected to deliver around 4,400 new homes.
Nationally, almost 180,000 children are growing up without a permanent home, the Government added. The funding aims to help families 'trapped in temporary accommodation or stuck on housing waiting lists' into 'safe, secure homes'.
Mayor's response
Mr Burnham said: “No child should be raised in a hostel room and no family should wait ten years for a front door of their own. I have said from my first day in this job that everything starts with a good home.
“Nearly £10 billion will go to councils and housing associations to build genuinely affordable homes, most of them for social rent, in the places where families are waiting longest.
“Councils built this country out of a housing crisis once before. Backed properly, and trusted to get on with it, they will do it again.”
In November 2025, it was announced that Greater Manchester would ultimately benefit from £1.8bn from the Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
Minister and sector reaction
Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook said: “Everyone deserves to live in a decent, safe, secure and affordable home. Yet far too many families in need of one are languishing on social housing waiting lists and almost 180,000 children in England are growing up homeless in temporary accommodation.
“The only way to fix this is to build more social and affordable housing which is why we’re backing local leaders with up to £529m to support the construction of around 4,000 new social and affordable homes for families in need across Greater Manchester.”
Under new rules, councils will also be able to retain all money generated from right to buy receipts to reinvest in new social and affordable housing.
The announcement follows promises from new Greater Manchester mayor Bev Craig to build 50,000 new affordable homes across the region by 2039. Some 10,000 of these are expected to be built or in the pipeline by May 2028. Ms Craig has promised to deliver a 'golden era of more council and social homes', adding there is a national housing crisis. Government grants, including the Social and Affordable Homes Programme funding, are expected to go towards paying for these.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “It is hugely welcome to see this much-anticipated funding confirmed, something we have been calling for to kickstart construction on tens of thousands of desperately needed new social homes. This is a major vote of confidence in not-for-profit housing associations and in the vital and distinct role they play in this country, as organisations that work for the long-term benefit of their communities.
“Housing associations have risen to the challenge of delivering the government's ambitions. Working in partnership with government, councils and mayors, they have used the support and certainty provided by government to rebuild their development capacity, invest in skills, and be the strong and reliable partners needed to build a new generation of social and affordable homes, alongside increasing investment in their existing homes. This is no better demonstrated than in the scale and ambition of the bids submitted to this Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
“We will continue to work with national and local government to maximise housing associations’ potential to deliver new social rented homes during this parliament and over the next decade, meeting the housing needs of local people in every part of the country.”
