Sadiq Khan beats target on new affordable homes in London
London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced today that London has exceeded the upper end of the government’s targets for affordable housing starts.
Under its 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, City Hall recorded 21,001 starts, which is well above the government’s upper target of 19,000.
Since 2018, there have been more than 116,000 affordable housing starts in the city.
Khan noted that this progress on new affordable builds was made despite severe headwinds in the housebuilding industry.
Construction and borrowing costs have increased substantially, while there have been delays at the Building Safety Regulator that have added to this pressure.
To help tackle the housing crisis in London, the Mayor secured a package of emergency measures earlier this year which enable a fast-track planning route for eligible developments and funding to help stalled developments move ahead.
Khan has also secured £11.7 billion in government funding for the next decade of the London Social and Affordable Homes Programme.
£6 billion of this has already been issued in offers to the first round of allocations, and 60% is going to local authorities to build new council homes.
“I’m hugely proud that we’ve exceeded the Government target. Councils, housing associations, and housebuilders across London have worked hard to get these homes under way in some of the toughest conditions for housebuilding in years, and today’s figures show that our collective work is delivering for Londoners,” Khan said.
“Building more social and affordable homes is a top priority and I’m taking the tough decisions needed to get them built.”
“I’m working closely with the Government to agree temporary emergency measures to get stalled sites moving,” he said.
“We’ve also secured funding to help build thousands more social and affordable homes over the next decade to ensure we deliver the homes Londoners desperately need, as we build a better London for everyone.”
