The deal will see the government’s housing and regeneration agency align its funding, expertise and capacity with the authority’s priorities to unlock major sites.
A joint business plan will now be drawn up to bring forward schemes including York Central – where up to 2,500 homes are planned on one of the UK’s largest brownfield sites – along with Maltkiln and Elvington Garden Village.
Mayor David Skaith said the region faced a housing crisis with more than 10,000 households on waiting lists.
He warned urgent action was needed to provide affordable homes and ensure people could continue to live in towns, cities and villages across York and North Yorkshire.
Homes England chair Pat Ritchie said the partnership would be central to meeting the government’s target of 1.5m new homes this parliament.
The Government homes agency now has nine Strategic Place Partnerships in place with mayoral authorities across England.