London council plans to deliver at least 500 new homes by 2030

The details emerged in a report that went before the council’s cabinet in March.

It outlines the pressures social landlords face, particularly in London, and their impact on housing delivery.

This includes the four-year rent cap, demands to tackle damp and mould, new fire safety standards following the Grenfell tragedy, changing building regulations, and increased pressure to address sustainability measures.

According to the report: “London’s social housing stock has a lower level of decency than other parts of the country, driven by an older stock profile, a higher proportion of high-rise units, higher density development, and higher levels of overcrowding.

“New developments at social rents are largely unsustainable without significant cross-subsidy.

“In this context, many London boroughs and registered providers (RP) are either pausing or scaling back their development programmes.”

It said that the lack of new supply, coupled with the decline in the rental market, “is having significant implications for homelessness and temporary accommodation”.

The council set up Homes for Lambeth in 2017. It has since delivered 392 homes on council-owned land, of which 236 are social rent, 32 are other affordable tenures, and 124 are market sale.

There are currently 123 affordable homes under construction, 109 for social rent, and 14 for other affordable tenures. 

The report said the review the council commissioned Lord Bob Kerslake to do in 2022 “made clear that the council should take a different approach to achieve its goals on affordable housing delivery and estate renewal”. 

In Lambeth, there are more than 40,000 households on the council’s waiting list for social housing, while around 4,000 households are in temporary accommodation.

“For context, a household approaching the council today would likely remain in temporary accommodation for at least 10 years before receiving a permanent offer of accommodation,” the report said.

As of 2023-24, the average net cost to the council for a single placement into temporary accommodation is £10,000 per year. The report described the current situation as  “unsustainable”.

According to the report: “The programme aims to deliver an additional minimum of 500 new affordable homes on council-owned land by 2030. This includes homes at social rent and other affordable tenures.

“The delivery of homes at social rent will be the priority. Homes at social rent will be for council tenants.

“This target will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis as economic conditions change. This target represents the floor of our ambition, rather than the ceiling.”

Danny Adilypour, deputy leader of the council and member for sustainable growth and new homes, said: “The lack of affordable housing is a moral scar on our society, and in Lambeth we will intervene more to confront the housing needs in the borough.

“The new homes programme brings forward our ambition to deliver hundreds of affordable homes to be occupied by council tenants.

“We know we need to accelerate the pace of delivery to get households off our housing waiting list and out of temporary accommodation and into the homes they so desperately need.”

Lambeth Council was recently subject to an inspection by the Housing Ombudsman over complaint-handling failures, which found that too many residents were “still receiving an unacceptable service”.

The watchdog also recently highlighted the council as one of nine landlords failing to comply with its complaint-handling orders.