The need for affordable housing for the relatively poor.

In many countries, including the UK and USA, acceptable housing cannot be afforded by lower-income families unless subsidised rent 'affordable housing' or 'social housing' is made available. Developers of new social housing face the financial problem of somehow subsidising their rents, as with housing grants or maybe using cheaper prefabricated housing.

Rent Subsidy Grants.

The USA and some other countries subsidise affordable housing only with rent subsidy grants, for which there may often be severe competition.

Housing Development Grants.

In other countries like the UK new social housing is subsidised chiefly by up front development grants. There the main grant funders now favour fewer bigger developers, and there is increasing grant bidding competition for such housing development grants.

Bidding for Housing Grants.

Affordable housing developers need successful bidding strategies for grant applications, and they often need to be appropriate to changing bidding situations. Needed new affordable housing or 'social housing' will generally only be developed if the developers, subsidy providers and all others involved are satisfied that a proposed new development project is financially viable and is good value for money