For-profit strikes Section 106 deal with BTR landlord in Nottingham

It will be located 15 minutes’ drive from the Nottingham city centre. Each home will have a private garden, electric vehicle charging point and solar panels.

The first homes will be delivered in July next year, with the entire development scheduled for completion in July 2028. Auxesia Homes expect initial affordable plots to be ready towards the latter half of 2026.

The structure of the deal is the first of its kind for Auxesia and Placefirst, where both Section 106 and BTR homes are purchased at the same time.

The Section 106 deal comes as less than 10% of an estimated 17,400 uncontracted Section 106 homes in England and Wales have gone through Homes England’s clearing service since it was created six months ago.

The Homes England clearing service was launched in December 2024 following reports around delays to private housing due to a lack of buyers for Section 106 affordable properties.

The service allows house builders to list details of planned affordable homes with no buyer, while registered providers and councils are able to view available stock.

More than 200 landlords signed up to the service in the first 50 days, including 140 registered providers and 70 local authorities.

Placefirst believes this arrangement allows the developers to unlock entire sites in a single transaction, even where traditional viability might otherwise fall short.

It also provides developers with a profitable, de-risked exit strategy, the landlord believes, with the model set to be replicated across future sites.

The transaction is Placefirst’s second joint-venture deal with Strata, taking the total number of homes developed together to 232 homes. The two organisations aim to deliver 500 homes by 2028.

Henry Marshall, chief investment officer at Placefirst, said: “Strengthening our partnership with Strata allows us to accelerate delivery and build at greater scale.

“The urgency of this shouldn’t be underestimated as the growing shortfall of such homes in the private rental market is estimated to be in the millions.”

Earlier this month, Auxesia Homes sold 134 homes to housing association Onward Homes. The for-profit provider specialises in homes for military personnel and key workers.