Social Housing Quality Fund (closed to applications)
A £15 million fund to improve the quality of social housing and tackle damp and mould health hazards is launching at 09:00am on 26 June 2023 and will be open for applications from social housing providers in Greater Manchester.
View the list of successful bids for the Social Housing Quality Fund (Internal webpage)
Read the Social Housing Quality Fund report (PDF, 305KB)
Read the Social Housing Quality Fund press release (Internal webpage)
Details
The Social Housing Quality Fund (SHQF) will be accepting applications from social housing providers for grants to fund repairs and renovation works in properties affected by damp and mould issues.
The £15 million funding was first announced by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove when he spoke at Convention of the North in Manchester earlier this year. It came as part of a national response to the tragic death of Awaab Ishak in Rochdale, and more widespread recognition that when people do not have safe, good quality housing, the consequences for their health can be devastating.
Social housing providers, including registered providers and local authorities or arms-length management organisations, will be able to apply for funding to remediate damp and mould issues in their properties, and in doing so improving the physical quality of housing. Grants will be match-funded by at least 25 per cent by successful applicants.
SHQF will target homes with serious damp and mould hazards including those where the hazards are a threat to health. It will support the installation of measures to homes in priority order:
- Band 1: Dealing with Category 1 damp and mould housing health and safety rating system (HHSRS) hazards
- Band 2: Dealing with Category 2 damp and mould HHSRS hazards facing vulnerable households
- Band 3: Dealing with other Category 2 damp and mould HHSRS hazards
- Band 4: Dealing with properties where tenants have reported damp and mould issues and surveys have identified remedial action required
- Band 5: Supporting ‘infill’ works to properties of archetypes with vulnerable tenants where issues are known to occur and where evidence demonstrates elevated risks of hazards occurring
- Band 6: Supporting ‘infill’ works to properties of archetypes where issues are known to occur and where evidence demonstrates elevated risks of hazards occurring
The competition will allocate up to £15 million of funding to support remedial and preventative damp and mould measures that improve the physical decency of social housing in Greater Manchester.
The SHQF competition will close to applications at 11:45am on Friday 14 July 2023.
Recipients must spend all grant funding by 31 March 2024.
All bids must be made through The Chest's 'ProContract Portal'. All documentation relating to SHQF is available through the portal. The Chest's user guide (external webpage) includes instructions and a video tutorial explaining how to register.
Apply to the Social Housing Quality Fund (external webpage)
Read the Competition Guidance for more information
Eligibility
Bidders
The competition is open to:
- Registered Housing Providers that own or manage social housing in Greater Manchester.
- Local Authorities that own or manage social housing in Greater Manchester.
Properties
Eligible properties must be:
- Located in Greater Manchester (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan).
- Existing social housing as defined by the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (sections 68-70) regardless of archetype.
Introduction event for prospective bidders
An event introducing SHQF is scheduled at 11:00-13:00 on Wednesday 28 June 2023. The event is open to eligible Registered Housing Providers and Local Authorities interested in submitting bids. The session provides an overview of the objectives of the funding, the competition eligibility and criteria, the application process and how bids will be assessed and funding allocated.
The event will be held on Microsoft Teams.
A recording of the event will be uploaded to The Chest.
To register your interest in attending email SHQF@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk.
Contact
If you have any enquiries about SHQF email SHQF@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk.
Applicants can ask questions on The Chest messaging function throughout the application window.