MHCLG takes over Section 106 affordable housing clearing service from Homes England

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has taken over the Section 106 Affordable Housing Clearing Service from Homes England, the department confirmed in updated registration guidance published on 9 October 2026.

The service is a database of housebuilders' uncontracted and unsold Section 106 affordable homes across England. MHCLG describes it as a tool that helps facilitate and accelerate the sale of those homes to registered providers (RPs) and local authorities.

Homes England created and managed the service in response to sector feedback, and the guidance was first published on 12 December 2024. MHCLG's update records that the service has now transferred to the department, although the government's Section 106 roadmap and its January 2026 progress update still refer to it as the Homes England Clearing Service.

Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, said when Homes England reported early registration figures in January 2025: "This clearing service is a welcome tool in tackling the current issue in the delivery of Section 106 affordable homes."

How the service works

Housebuilders, RPs and local authorities can register through an online form hosted on Microsoft Forms. Each organisation can nominate up to five users to input or view information, and MHCLG checks the details supplied before granting access.

Approved housebuilders receive a link to a unique SharePoint spreadsheet for their organisation, where they record available Section 106 affordable homes, delivery dates and contact details for specific sites. RPs and local authorities can search, filter and view all homes shared by housebuilders, with contact details.

MHCLG and Homes England can both access the service. The Greater London Authority can view information on London sites only, after the service was extended to the capital on 28 January 2026. When Homes England launched it, London was excluded because the GLA has responsibility for affordable housing delivery there.

The department says it does not endorse the data supplied by housebuilders, RPs and local authorities, and that the service exists to facilitate engagement between them rather than to provide advice. Users with problems are told to email S106AffordableHousingClearingService@communities.gov.uk.

Why it matters

The clearing service has become a required step in the government's approach to uncontracted Section 106 homes. MHCLG's Section 106 roadmap told developers to upload any uncontracted S106 homes onto the service by 1 June 2026 to give RPs a final chance to bid. Homes not uploaded by that point fall outside the time-limited tenure-change process.

Under the roadmap, homes must stay live on the service for six weeks from the date of upload, and only homes due for completion on or before 1 December 2027 are eligible for the time-limited approach. The government's January 2026 progress update on social and affordable housing also required all S106 homes to be registered on the service before any tenure change is agreed.

The roadmap says thousands of constructed or consented S106 units are currently uncontracted and unsold. The progress update says S106 agreements remain an essential mechanism for delivering social and affordable housing, and that up to 10% of the £2.5bn low-interest loan scheme for private registered providers will be available to support delivery through S106.

Official statistics give the backdrop. MHCLG reported that England delivered 64,762 affordable homes in 2024-25, up 1% on the previous year and the highest since 2014-15. But Section 106 nil-grant agreements accounted for 36% of those completions, down from 45% the year before and the lowest proportion since 2014-15.

Year	Share of affordable completions from S106 nil-grant
2023-24	45%
2024-25	36%

Take-up so far

Homes England reported on 28 January 2025 that more than 70 housebuilders had registered in the first 50 days, joining 140 registered providers and more than 70 local authorities.

Ian Workman, Homes England Chief Customer Officer, said at the time: "I would urge house builders in particular to register and add as much detail as they can."

Matthew Pennycook, Housing Minister, said in the same announcement that the government recognised the challenge posed by the reduced appetite of registered providers to buy Section 106 affordable homes.

The registration page remains open under MHCLG, with no closure date given. The roadmap's eligibility cut-off for the time-limited tenure-change route remains homes due for completion on or before 1 December 2027.