09 May More Affordable Housing for Manchester

The Manchester City Council has revealed plans to strengthen its affordable housing commitment. The housing affordability framework outlines the city’s push for more options for people with below the average household income to rent or buy property.

This will be achieved through social housing, shared ownership or equity, affordable rent properties and rent to purchase homes. It will be done in conjunction with private and public sector partners and will draw on the government’s National Productivity Investment Fund.

Since 2012, over 2700 homes have been built with the city’s Affordable Homes Programme. Unfortunately, at the same time, 1800 affordable homes were removed from the property market, leaving only 921 new affordable homes.

The new scheme is expected to deliver between 1000 and 2000 new homes a year and will help maintain the social housing figure of 70,000 homes.

In a statement, Councillor Bernard Priest, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said, “Manchester is leading the way to ensure the city can deliver decent and secure housing that meets the needs of residents that are below the average income for the city.

“Decent housing shouldn’t be a luxury. It should be something that everyone in Manchester can enjoy. We intend to make sure up to 2,000 homes a year are built that are decent, secure and affordable.”