The homes will be delivered across four sites in London and Chelmsford, including at Anglia Ruskin University and at Grahame Park in Barnet. The funding is the fourth deal under the Build to Rent scheme and the largest to date.
The government set up the Build to Rent fund in 2012 to cut risk for developers looking to invest in homes built specifically for private rent. The scheme gives management companies the chance to invest in new rental developments and developers can then repay the government investment. Chancellor George Osborne increased the fund from £200m to £1 billion in the 2013 Budget.
"With millions looking to live in and around London, there is a real demand for good quality homes available to rent on flexible terms," said Hopkins in a statement.
"Today’s Build to Rent deal is our fourth and the largest to date. It will deliver nearly 500 homes on sites across the capital and in Chelmsford, offering greater choice for tenants. And with more sites being considered as part of this £1 bn scheme, we’re looking to get even more homes built specifically for rent across the country," Hopkins said.
"With London’s population soaring, and to help address a 30-year failure to build enough homes, we have set the most ambitious house-building targets in City Hall history," said Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
"The private rented sector has a huge part to play in this. More well-designed, good quality homes to rent will help rebalance the capital’s rental market, improve services for tenants and stimulate new development and economic growth as well as providing the new homes that hardworking Londoners so desperately need," Johnson added.
