A consortium of London housing associations has warned the government that new affordable home-building is grinding to a halt.

G15 says the associations are expected to start building 1,769 affordable homes in the capital this year compared with 7,363 last year - a 76% drop.

The figures are important for private landlords because the current rental crisis, where too many tenants are chasing too few properties to rent, is a direct result of decades during which affordable rented home building has been too low.

The G15 data also shows that its members have cut development in and outside London from 14,658 units a year, to 6,387 in 2024. Only 35% of planned new homes are in London, compared with 70% of new starts last year.

These housing association own and manage more than 770,000 homes and are responsible for building about 15% of all new affordable homes across the country.

Michael Gove’s review of the London Plan states that simplifying policies on brownfield could increase capacity for the delivery of homes by almost 11%, equivalent to about 4,000 additional homes each year.

In a letter to the Housing Secretary, G15 and independent think-tank Centre for London, say the government’s short-term fixes don’t go far enough to address a broken system.

Crisis

It adds: “Despite the crisis facing Londoners, the government has failed to step up and invest in the delivery of social housing. Insufficient sustainable funding, among many structural issues, is a critical reason why housing is in crisis in our capital city.”

They are calling on the government to increase investment in social housing, by building 90,000 social homes a year across England, including 30,000 in London, and committing £15.1 billion a year to the Affordable Homes Programme. Other suggestions are to work with the Mayor of London to set up development corporations, building on strategically defined areas of the Green Belt.

Gove’s new proposals aimed at increasing housing development by introducing an overhaul of the planning system would make it easier for developers to secure permission to build on brownfield sites in cities and towns.

Photo credit: Clarion Housing Group