UK moves ahead with first £10 billion wave of low-rent housing plan

Britain's government announced details on Monday of almost £10 billion ($13.63 billion) in funding for the construction of ‌lower-cost housing for renters with a focus on London, one of the areas hit hardest by the country's shortage of homes.

More than £7 billion - the first tranche of ‌a previously announced £39 billion in funding over 10 years - was earmarked for the ‌capital where local authorities were expected to deliver over half the new homes, the government said. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who moved into Downing Street in July, has promised to build ⁠more ​social rent homes, ⁠which offer tenants a discount of around 50% to market rates. He says the move will ⁠reduce the long-term welfare bill and homelessness as well as provide security to people ​on lower incomes.

"Councils built this country out of a housing crisis once before. ⁠Backed properly, and trusted to get on with it, they will do it again," Burnham ⁠said ​in a statement. Over time, more than £16 billion of the total 10-year funding plan will be allocated outside London, the government said.

It said the first ⁠wave of financing would support the construction of more than 70,000 new homes. The ⁠government said the ⁠house-building programme would advance another policy priority of Burnham - devolution - by giving mayoral authorities the power to set strategic direction in ‌their areas. ($1 = ‌0.7335 pounds) (Writing by William Schomberg; Editing ​by Muvija M)