FAQs

The Council Housebuilding Support Service (CHoSS) is a fully funded national improvement programme that helps councils strengthen their capacity, capability and confidence to build more council homes.

Funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and delivered by the Local Government Association (LGA), CHoSS provides free, tailored support for councils at any stage of their housebuilding journey.

CHoSS is open to all councils in England, regardless of whether they:

• hold a Housing Revenue Account (HRA),
• own stock, or
• deliver homes through other mechanisms.

We support councils who want to establish, restart, enhance or accelerate their housebuilding ambitions.

All councils start with the CHoSS Self-Assessment Tool, which helps identify strengths, gaps, and priority needs across skills, leadership, delivery capability, workforce and pipeline.

This assessment helps us create a tailored support plan, which may include advice, workshops, peer learning, case studies and practical tools.

Support is grouped across our main thematic areas, including:

• corporate leadership and governance
• HRA and 'non-HRA' delivery models
• funding, financing and delivery vehicles
• land supply and pipeline development
• skills, workforce and organisational capacity
• programme and project management
• sustainability and net zero
• managing social housing.

These support offers have been shaped through co-design with 10 vanguard councils and reflect the real challenges councils face.

Depending on the council’s needs, CHoSS can offer:

• one-to-one advisory support
• embedded delivery support for short periods
• peer matching and site visits
• case studies and good practice
• webinars, workshops and learning sets
• communities of practice
• templates, tools, checklists and explainers
• support with structures, workforce, DMA reviews, and leadership development.

Your Senior Regional Adviser will work with you to tailor the package.

No. CHoSS is fully funded, and all support—advice, tools, workshops, peer learning, and delivery support—is provided free of charge to councils.

No. CHoSS is designed to support councils with or without an HRA. We help:

• HRA councils to strengthen business plans, delivery confidence, and pipeline progression
• 'non-HRA' councils to understand delivery options, assess risk, explore models, and decide whether to establish an HRA.

The programme’s design was shaped with both types of councils through the vanguard process.

CHoSS was co-designed with 10 vanguard councils, who helped shape the programme’s offer by:

• testing early products
• providing insight on challenges
• reviewing emerging support areas
• identifying sector priorities
• hosting learning sessions and case studies.

Their feedback directly informed the support model, themes, and development of legacy resources such as the HRA Manual.

CHSCP has three elements:

1. CHoSS: Delivered by the LGA, providing improvement support, tools, training, peer learning and targeted advice.
    
2. Pathways to Planning (expanded): Delivered by the LGA, this expanded graduate programme brings new planning, surveying and construction talent into councils to address workforce shortages.
    
3. Council Housebuilding Support Fund: Delivered by Homes England, offering targeted grant support to councils outside London to accelerate bids to the Affordable Homes Programme and bring forward more social rent homes, confidence, capability and organisational readiness within councils, with flexibility to deploy limited programme funding where appropriate to support specific capacity-building or delivery-enabling activity.

CHoSS can support councils with:

• general bid writing skills
• developing stronger business cases
• organisational readiness
• pipeline development and viability.

However, CHoSS does not duplicate support provided through Homes England’s grant funding and will not support councils to bid for the same issues addressed through the Support Fund.

The HRA Manual will provide:

• a comprehensive guide to establishing, managing or reshaping an HRA
• legal, financial, operational and governance considerations
• policy templates and required processes.

It will be published early this year.

CHoSS can help councils explore:

• short-term embedded support (via Local Partnerships)
• cross-council partnering models
• LGA coaching, workforce and recruitment/retention support.

Your Senior Regional Adviser will help match you with the right type of delivery support.

Yes. The programme includes options for:

• member engagement sessions
• leadership development
• understanding risk, viability and trade-offs
• governance and oversight roles.

Absolutely. CHoSS supports councils at every stage, including those who are:

• exploring delivery options
• considering re-opening or establishing an HRA
• reviewing a stalled or early-stage pipeline
• testing the viability of homebuilding
• restarting activity after a period of inactivity.

CHoSS provides:

• guidance on sustainability expectations, standards and legislation
• support to understand viability implications
• member-focused materials to explain trade-offs
• best-practice case studies of sustainable schemes.

A member of the CHoSS team will be in contact you within one week of your enquiry to talk you through the self-assessment process. 

Your Senior Adviser will:

• review your assessment with you
• agree priority areas for support
• coordinate advisors, peers or delivery partners
• create a tailored support plan
• set out timelines, milestones and next steps.

This ensures support is targeted, relevant and aligned with your priorities.