Welsh government pumps £10million more into Houses to Homes Initiative

Following a positive evaluation by Sheffield Hallam University of the Welsh Houses into Homes initiative, the Welsh Government has doubled the amount of money available for the empty homes loans scheme that lies at the heart of the initiative. The additional £10million was announced on the 8th May as part of a £30million boost to housing: the other £20million is aimed at counteracting some of the worst impacts of the UK government's benefits changes particularly the "bedroom tax". The website announcement desribes the funding boost as "£10m to deliver additional affordable homes by bringing more long-term empty properties back into use". We've been able to establish via contacts with the Welsh government that the reference to "affordable homes" is inaccurate: the funding is for the existing loans fund, which is modelled on the Kent scheme and is not tied to affordable housing. It simply requires the capital to be returned after two years if the property is sold or three years if it is rented out. So although the £10million is intended to bring a further 500 empties back into use (at an average of £20,000 per property), because the loans are repaid in full the funding is then available for reinvestment, meaning that the eventual number of homes that will be brought back into use would be much greater. The Welsh Government press release about the additional funding can be accessed from here The Sheffield Hallam University evaluation report can be accessed via our library from here. We'll be analysing this in much more detail shorlty.