NatWest (NWG) has announced a new £250 million Section 106 Loan Fund designed to help housing associations acquire affordable homes from housebuilders across England.
The fund aims to unlock stalled housing delivery by supporting associations in purchasing properties that might otherwise remain unbuilt or unsold amid a deepening national housing crisis.
The announcement comes alongside a broader £10 billion funding ambition for UK social housing by the end of 2028, which would take NatWest’s total support for the sector to more than £35 billion since 2018.
Paul Eyre, head of residential and housing finance at NatWest, leads the bank’s support of housing associations, residential developers and investors across the United Kingdom.
Eyre grew up in social housing after his parents came to the UK from Ireland with no money, and he credits that upbringing with shaping his understanding of why stable housing matters so profoundly.
“I always felt secure. I always knew I had a home,” Eyre writes, describing the experience as the clearest way he can explain why affordable housing deserves far greater attention from policymakers and financiers alike.
There are currently 176,000 children living in temporary accommodation in the UK, the highest number on record, a statistic Eyre describes as the starting point for how he thinks about social housing today.
Eyre draws a distinction between council housing, social housing and affordable housing, noting that social rent remains especially important because it is usually the cheapest form of rent and often makes the biggest difference for people in genuine housing need.
Housing associations are under mounting pressure from rising costs related to inflation, fire safety work, higher home standards and green retrofitting, all while trying to maintain existing stock and deliver new homes.
Eyre acknowledged that these necessary investments add cost without increasing income, which is one reason some organisations have had to slow or pause development even as housing demand continues to outpace supply.
NatWest previously created a Social Rent Loan Fund worth £1 billion after identifying how few new social rent homes were being delivered and how urgent demand had become across England and Wales.
Eyre said he does not believe finance alone can solve the housing crisis, and has previously stated that “none of what we do is a silver bullet,” but argues that where the bank can help, it should.
Standing in the East End while viewing new social rent homes, Eyre described thinking about families currently in temporary accommodation who would one day walk through those doors and think, “Wow, we’re in heaven.”
The new Section 106 Loan Fund targets a specific mechanism within the planning system, where housebuilders are required to deliver affordable homes as a condition of receiving planning permission for larger developments.
By helping housing associations complete these acquisitions, NatWest hopes to accelerate delivery of homes that are already approved but remain stuck due to financing constraints affecting both developers and registered providers.
Eyre argues that the value of social housing is not abstract, but is found in the security of a child knowing they have a home and in the opportunities that stable housing makes possible for families across Britain.