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Access to Accommodation Fund

Access to Accommodation Fund

Access to Accommodation Fund

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

We are excited to share details of a new funding opportunity, designed to enable smaller and grassroots organisations across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to unlock and/or create housing solutions within their local communities.

Following the success of our previous round of funding, we have made available up to £300k for smaller frontline organisations. Funding of up to £100k per organisation will be available, which can be spent over a maximum of a three-year period. This funding is available for organisations with an annual turnover of less than £2 million per year.

St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity is committed to ensuring everyone has a safe place to call home and the support they need.

This funding programme builds on evidence and insights from organisations and frontline workers, who continually report that insufficient housing options for people experiencing homelessness is one of the biggest challenges they face.

Following strong interest in England through our previous funding round, we are now focusing this opportunity specifically on Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, where we are keen to support more locally led solutions and strengthen housing pathways across the UK.

The Access to Accommodation Funding Programme 

Over the past eight years, we have undertaken an annual Frontline Worker Survey to identify and address gaps in support for people experiencing homelessness and the frontline workers that provide support. We have consistently heard that there is a need to improve access to accommodation for people experiencing homelessness.

In our 2025 Survey, 83% of frontline workers said that it is difficult to access housing that meets their clients’ needs. Frontline workers also told us that helping people to access accommodation is getting harder with 55% of workers reporting it has become more difficult in the past year.

In response to our call for insights on this issue, three quarters of respondents mentioned the need for more accommodation and the shortage of affordable housing was repeatedly cited. Strong themes were also identified around community, social integration and connection as foundations that are often missing for those experiencing homelessness. 

In response to the insights and feedback shared, our core focus is smaller, locally embedded charities who work with people facing homelessness and have been struggling to access accommodation for those they are working with and so have been seeking to develop new options. The purpose of this new fund is to test projects and approaches that may have the opportunity for wider scale and impact whilst supporting organisations to create longer term options in the current housing crisis.

Alongside funding, we will convene peer networks to promote good practice and effective housing solutions that are rooted within communities across the sector as part of our wider influencing work. We will also ensure learning and evaluation is embedded within this programme, through an external learning partner, who will work with grant partners to capture the learning and evaluation from this programme. We are committed to reflecting on the learning that emerges to develop, share learning and shape future funding priorities.

Funding criteria

The fund will support projects that:

  • unlock or create housing solutions for people experiencing homelessness
  • are locally led and delivered by organisations embedded within their communities and integrated within local services
  • are needs focused, understanding the experiences of people facing homelessness and developing solutions that respond to those needs
  • involve people with experience of homelessness in the review, design and or delivery of the project
  • have the potential to create longer-term impact for the organisation and or local community
  • may have scope to be replicated more widely across the sector to inform best practice

We are particularly interested in hearing from projects working with communities impacted by exclusion and or discrimination.

This funding is only available for organisations based in Wales, Scotland and or Northern Ireland.

How to apply

To apply, please download and complete the application form here and send to Heather Sandover at heather.sandover@stmartinscharity.org.uk.

For more details on the application process, see the application guidance here.

We will be hosting an information session on Wednesday 6 May at 2pm. To book a place, or to discuss the fund further, please email heather.sandover@stmartinscharity.org.uk.

The closing date for applications is Friday 5 June 2026 at 5pm.

 

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