Land and investment agency replaces Homes and Communities Agency

A new national housing agency – Homes England – has been launched by the Government this week as the replacement to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The HCA was established in 2008 as the government’s housing, land and regeneration agency, and the regulator of social housing providers in England.

The Government has previously confirmed that the Regulator of Social Housing will be separated and established as a standalone organisation. Homes England will meanwhile be a commercially-focused land and investment agency.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “By bringing together their existing planning expertise and new land buying powers, the new agency will play a major role in securing land in areas where people want to live, support smaller and more innovative house builders into the market and resource brownfield sites from across the country to deliver homes for families.”

It added that Homes England would help deliver an average of 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.

Housing Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This government is determined to build the homes our country needs and help more people get on the housing ladder. Homes England will be at the heart of leading this effort.

Nick Walkley, Chief Executive of Homes England, said: “As Homes England, we will use our land, finance and expertise to expand the delivery of affordable new homes and connect ambitious partners to remove barriers to house building.”

The Ministry added that Homes England would be expected to “develop a new commercial approach to acquiring, preparing, managing and developing land in areas of high demand and strategic importance.

“By focusing on using both the land and money to support builders of all sizes to increase supply will continue to support accelerated construction on a selection of sites.”