Cash to be split between low-cost homes schemes

London housing

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has committed up to 拢220m to fund the delivery of 6,000 new 鈥渁ffordable鈥� homes in the capital over the next 10 years.

Johnson said today that up to 拢180m was being allocated to deliver 4,000 of the homes via shared-ownership through the Mayor鈥檚 First Steps Challenge Fund.

City Hall staff said the cash was being made available on a recoverable basis so that repaid funds could be reinvested.

A further 拢40m will help to fund up to 2,000 additional homes through a London version of the Gentoo Genie Home Purchase Plan, which helps people buy a home over a 30-year period without the need for a mortgage.

Announcing the packages at Erith Park, in south-east London, Johnson said shared ownership was crucial in helping the unprecedented number of people in London find good-quality, low-cost housing.

鈥淚 want the funding announced today to help thousands more Londoners own homes and create more developments like Erith Park, excellent affordable properties,鈥� he said.

Erith Park is being delivered by Orbit Housing in conjunction with Wates Group鈥檚 Wates Living Space affordable housing programme.

The Gentoo funding is based on a pilot project that ran in the North East and will last for 10 years. It targets long-term renters who may be unable to get together a large enough deposit to buy homes with a traditional mortgage.

The First Steps Challenge Fund money is available for the five years to 2020.