Through a new ambition of £7.5 billion of lending (New funding gross of repayments and amortisations) over three years from 1 January 2024 to year-end 2026, the bank is aiming to support the delivery and maintenance of social housing in the UK, which is vital to the people and families who rely on affordable housing, as well as the wider economy.

According to a 2024 report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research Cebr, National Housing Federation and Shelter, social homes are more stable than private renting, as tenancies are secure, leading to better socioeconomic outcomes and increasing rates of employment.

This lending should help the housing associations sector to deliver a pipeline of new homes and improve living conditions in existing properties, thus improving the availability and quality of social housing in the UK. Alongside the construction of new properties, this lending could also help housing associations finance energy efficiency and environmental solutions, such as retrofits.

Robert Begbie, CEO, commercial & institutional banking, NatWest Group, said: “We continue to be a leading lender to the UK social housing sector, and we are pleased at being able to increase our lending to the sector as demand continues to grow.

“The sector continues to be a key priority as we aim to help more people and families have access to housing. By further increasing our ambition to provide £7.5bn in funding by the end of next year, we will continue to drive growth in this important sector, supporting those who need it most.”  

Today’s announcement is the bank’s latest signal of support to the housing association sector. In February 2021, the bank issued a €1bn (c. £830 million) affordable housing social bond, the first of its kind by a UK bank, using the bond proceeds to finance or refinance loans to not-for-profit registered housing associations operating in the UK.

It has also helped deliver for the sector across the UK: under its Royal Bank of Scotland brand, the bank recently concluded a lending transaction of £19m for social housing developer Eildon Housing Association, with the developer planning to deliver nearly 800 new homes in the Scottish Borders.

The bank has deepened its work with The Royal Foundation’s Homewards programme, whose aim is to prevent and end homelessness. The programme has identified the need to unlock more housing, and an important element of that is increased lending from bank focussed on social housing. With collaboration at the centre of Homewards’ mission, Royal Bank of Scotland is actively engaging with the programme to explore how it can offer support and expertise to help prevent homelessness.

Homewards works in Aberdeen and through its work with the bank’s Regional Boards across the UK, and at a national level, the bank is exploring a response, in a collective effort to help prevent homelessness in these areas.