It has now been confirmed by an announcement on 20th September 2011 by CLG that community groups are to be given access to the £100million allocated in the Affordable Homes Programme to empty homes. Community groups are not defined in the announcement but certainly include groups that would not meet the HCA normal Investment Partner or Registered Provider criteria.
Previous unconfirmed reports have suggested that the money will be distributed by CLG rather than HCA: The CLG announcement says
"Formal bidding guidance for community groups who want to apply for Government funding will be published shortly"
The use of the word "Government" suggests that the unconfirmed reports are correct.