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London housing demand continues to outstrip supply, report finds
The gap between the number of homes needed in London and the number being built widened last year, reversing an upward trend, a report has found.
A briefing from the London Assembly’s Housing Committee used City Hall statistics to show that 65,878 homes were needed in 2017/18, while only 31,723 were built, 48% of the target.
This was the first time in five years that this gap has widened, although housing need has not been met in any year since 2008/09.
It widened largely because the number of homes delivered over the past decade has decreased, leading to the number of homes needed doubling since Boris Johnson’s first tenure as mayor from 2008 to 2012, during which it was judged to be 33,000 a year.
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The past financial year also saw work begin on 14,544 homes of various sub-market tenures, an increase on the previous financial year.
Of these, 3,991 were for social rent or the mayor’s slightly more expensive tenure, ‘London Affordable Rent’, 1,717 were for the government-defined ‘affordable rent’, 8,544 were for intermediate tenures such as shared ownership or London Living Rent, and 292 have not yet had their tenure confirmed.
Sadiq Khan had set himself a target of starting between 14,000 and 19,000 affordable homes in 2018/19, meaning he has achieved the lower end of his target.
In March, Mr Khan was into a renewed defence of his affordable housing record after fresh allegations from the Conservatives of ‘double counting’ on starts.
In the previous financial year, affordable housing started hit 12,555, just within the mayor’s target range of between 12,500 and 16,500.
According to the committee’s report, London needs around 31,000 homes each year at social rent level, meaning the capital is currently meeting only 13% of its social rented housing need.
Earlier this week the Housing Committee wrote to housing minister Kit Malthouse calling on the government to provide funds for a Housing First project in London.
The initiative, which has been credited with ending rough sleeping in Finland, is being piloted in Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool, but the committee argued that the government should not wait for results from these pilots before expanding it.
