You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
London needs £4.9bn a year in affordable housing grant, say Khan and G15
London needs £4.9bn a year in affordable housing grant, seven times more than it currently receives, according to a report by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and social landlords.
Analysis by City Hall, councils and the G15, which represents London’s largest housing associations, found that this is the sum required to meet need for affordable housing in the capital, including a greater focus on social rent and taking account of rising construction costs.
The figure is based on the GLA’s London Plan, which identified need and capacity for 65,000 new homes a year, with half affordable and 70% of these for social rent.
The GLA said that the £4.9bn would be needed annually to deliver 325,000 affordable homes from 2022/23 to 2032/33 once its current six-year Affordable Homes Programme ends in March 2022.
It currently receives around £700m of affordable housing grant a year from government.
READ MORE
London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “This analysis shows the vast increase in government funding required to deliver the affordable homes that Londoners desperately need.
“City Hall is building record numbers of new council and social homes, but we need far more funding if we are to truly tackle the housing crisis.
“As a prime minister takes the helm, they must put their money where their mouth is and provide the funding we need to turn this crisis around.”
Figures released by City Hall last month showed that 14,544 affordable homes were started in London in 2018/19, more than in any year since the mayor took control of housing investment in 2012.
However, a London Assembly report published this month said that the gap between the total number of homes needed and the number being built widened in 2017/18, with only 48% of the target reached.
Grant funding typically covered more than half the cost of an affordable home before 2008, but today’s report said that the level has now fallen to around 15% to 20%. It called for grant rates of around 48%.
Paul Hackett, chair of the G15 and chief executive of Optivo, warned that the cross-subsidy model of funding affordable housing “is at breaking point”.
“Londoners have known for years how severe the capital’s housing crisis has become, but our new joint report with the mayor shows exactly what is needed to address the problem,” he added.
“This research shows that to build genuinely affordable homes at the scale required, the government’s approach to funding needs to fundamentally change.
“We need to return to higher grant rates and agree a long-term settlement to give us the tools to keep tackling the housing crisis head-on.”
Darren Rodwell, executive member for housing and planning at London Councils and leader of Barking & Dagenham Council, said: “With a new prime minister set to take office soon, we need the government to get to grips with this issue by providing the resources required for a substantial boost to affordable housebuilding in the capital.”
Communities secretary James Brokenshire said: “London is already receiving over half the total government £9bn budget for affordable homes – over £4.8bn – which is helping build 116,000 affordable homes across the capital by March 2022.
“It is clear a healthy private sector building market is needed to deliver affordable homes, yet the mayor chooses to ignore this to the detriment of the London housing market and Londoners aspiring to have a home of their own.”
