The government has brought in senior civil servant with a background in prisons to run Homes England, as the agency pushes forward with plans to deliver 1.5 million homes during the current Parliament.
Amy Rees will take up the post on 8 September, reporting to the Homes England board and accountable to the deputy prime minister, housing minister, and Parliament.
She replaces interim chief executive Eamonn Boylan, who took up the post in January 2025 following the departure of Peter Denton.
Denton joined Homes England in August 2021 after serving as chief executive officer of housing association Hyde Group.
Rees was previously interim permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and led His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).
Her spell in charge at HMPPS saw the collapse of contractor ISG, which cost the department £300m on its New Prisons Programme.
In January 2025, Rees told MPs that HMPPS faced greater risk from ISG’s collapse on maintenance contracts than on new-build work.
She warned that prison cells would close if remediation was not completed by the 2027 deadline.
Rees was awarded a Companion of the Order of the Bath earlier this year for services to justice.
Homes England said her appointment would help drive regional delivery, strengthen local partnerships and accelerate its cultural and operational reform programme.
The agency’s transformation plans include the introduction of a regionalised operating model and the launch of the National Housing Bank, which is intended to unlock £53bn of private investment in housing delivery.
Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said Rees would help deliver the “biggest expansion in social and affordable housing in a generation”.
Housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook added that her track record of delivering complex public sector reform made her an ideal choice for the role.
Rees will be responsible for overseeing the agency’s stewardship of public funds and aligning its delivery with government priorities.