The deal will release £400m to the first eight housing associations to drawn down the cheap loan offer allowing them to push ahead and build 4,000 new homes.
Housing minister Kris Hopkins welcomed the extra funding deal, which forms part of the £3.5bn Affordable Housing Guarantees programme.
This enables housing associations to use a government guarantee to secure private investment at more competitive rates than they would otherwise.
Hopkins said: “Today’s deal with the European Investment Bank is a vote of confidence in our ongoing efforts to restore confidence to our housing market and get Britain building.
“This £500m investment will help deliver up to 4,300 new affordable homes across the country, on top of the 170,000 affordable homes we’ve already delivered since 2010.”
First eight associations to get cheap loans
- Devon & Cornwall Housing will borrow £85m to build 887 homes.
- Hexagon Housing Association will borrow £12.5m to build 74 homes in London and the South East.
- First Wessex will borrow £88m to build 589 homes in Hampshire and Surrey.
- Great Places will borrow £50m to build 674 homes in Manchester and the North.
- Wales and West Housing Association will borrow £25m to build 251 homes in Wales.
- Adactus will borrow £27m to build 344 homes in Greater Manchester and Lancashire.
- Home group will borrow up to £61m to build 642 homes in England.
- Paradigm will borrow up to £65m to deliver up to 594 homes across South and East England, and Greater London