What the Affordable Housing Funding Policy is, who can apply for funding and how.
What the Affordable Housing Funding Policy (AHFP) is
The pdf Affordable Housing Funding Policy (AHFP) 2022/2025 (527 KB) explains how we'll use capital funding to help housing providers build affordable homes in Bristol where there is a gap in available subsidy, and the development cannot continue without some extra funding. The AHFP replaces the Affordable Housing Grant programme which had been in place since 2017.
We have limited capital funding available. We'll invite specific providers to bid for funding, or fund specific projects. For example, we may invite providers to bid for funding to develop housing for people with support needs.
The pdf AHFP (527 KB) provides the framework for the allocation of affordable housing capital subsidy, including how bids will operate and how we'll assess them.
Sometimes we'll add more scoring criteria to the pdf AHFP Scoring Framework (369 KB) to fit the specific requirements of future bid rounds.
Who can apply
We'll support the following organisations to build affordable homes.
- HomesWest Registered Provider Partners. These affordable housing providers are registered with Homes England (HE), are regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing and have committed to delivering affordable homes in the City of Bristol. We will not usually fund profit-making Registered Providers.
- Community-led housing organisations and community land trusts (CLT).
- Not-for-profit specialist housing providers.
What we fund
We prioritise affordable rented homes and our preference is to fund providers who will deliver social rent homes.
We'll only fund providers that advertise their rented homes with Bristol HomeChoice.
We will not fund affordable housing secured as part of a pdf section 106 (421 KB) legal agreement between a developer and the council. For more information see the pdf AHFP (527 KB) .
We no longer do a monthly open bidding process to allocate funding for affordable housing. Instead we'll invite specific providers to bid for funding, or open bidding to fund specific projects.
We'll tell affordable housing providers about any bidding opportunities by emailing them at least 4 weeks before a bid round opens.
How to apply
Providers will apply using ProContract Go to https://procontract.due-north.com/Login (opens new window). You'll need to create an account Go to https://procontract.due-north.com/register?msclkid=eb4b3691cf0411ecadb846274720be99 (opens new window). Go to ProContract's help pages Go to https://supplierhelp.due-north.com/ (opens new window) if you need help doing this.
Bidders must submit a full scheme development appraisal. We prefer bidders to use Proval. The appraisal must have a negative Net Present Value (NPV) and show how our funding will make the scheme financially viable.
Your bid will also need to include information about:
- the homes you plan to deliver
- how your proposed development meets an identified housing need in the city
- how your proposal responds to our corporate strategy and the Bristol Local Plan and its supporting planning guidance
- your planned building schedule
- the social value your proposal offers (see our pdf social value policy (269 KB) )
- your organisation's finances
- how your proposal offers value for money
For full details see the pdf AHFP (527 KB) .
We must comply with the government's state subsidy rules Go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/complying-with-the-uks-international-obligations-on-subsidy-control-guidance-for-public-authorities/technical-guidance-on-the-uks-international-subsidy-control-commitments#section-3 (opens new window) when we allocate funding for affordable housing. We're updating our guidance and will publish it here soon.
Contact
If you have any questions about applying for funding to build affordable homes, email strategyandenabling@bristol.gov.uk