The Mayor was granted £4.82bn in Government funding to build
affordable homes in London as part of his Affordable Homes
Programme (AHP) 2016-23, in which he committed to start 116,000
homes by 2021, which was extended to 2023. He then received a
further £4 billion for the new AHP 2021-26, where he committed to
35,000 affordable housing starts and a greater proportion of
homes at social rent.
Following a review of the AHP 2021-26 target due to ongoing
financial challenges within the house-building sector, the
Greater London Authority (GLA) has since confirmed that the new
target for starts in the AHP 2021-26 is between 23,900 to 27,100
starts
The London Assembly Housing
Committee has today published
its annual ‘Affordable Housing Monitor’ for
2022-23. The report tracks how much progress the Mayor has
made in delivering affordable homes in London.
Key statistics in the report include:
- The Mayor met the target of starting
116,000 affordable homes by March 2023, under the
Affordable Homes Programme 2016-23 which was funded by £4.82bn
Government grant.
- From 2015 to the end of March 2023, there have
been 55,027 completions relating to
the 116,782 homes that were started under the AHP 2016-23. This
leaves 61,755, out of the 116,782 starts, to complete. The Deputy
Mayor told the Housing Committee at a meeting on 19 October 2023
that the majority are forecast to be completed by 2029,
with “a couple of schemes that will complete in the
early 2030s, I think covering around 2,700 homes.”
- In 2021 the Mayor committed to starting a
further 35,000 homes between 2021 and
2026, funded by a further £4bn Government grant, under
the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26. These homes
have not yet been started,
and delays to the Programme combined
with changing market
conditions contributed to the original targets
becoming untenable. In July 2023 the Government and the Mayor
negotiated the target down, due to economic challenges to housing
delivery. The new target is a range of 23,900 to
27,100.
- The Mayor has emphasised that the new AHP for 2021-26 will
deliver more homes at Social Rent level,
with over half of the starts expected to be of this tenure type.
- However, this is still far below assessed need.
Each year London needs around 31,000
homes at low cost rent, according to the GLA’s Strategic
Housing Market Assessment (SHMA).
AM,
Chairman of the London Assembly Housing Committee, said:
“Ensuring there are enough high quality affordable homes for
Londoners must be an absolute priority for the Mayor, having been
granted a total of £8.82bn by the Government for the 2016-23 and
2021-26 Affordable Homes Programmes. A lack of housing leads to
Londoners being forced to live in sub-standard homes, which are
often overcrowded and overpriced.
“Londoners being priced out of the city is detrimental to the
economy and growth of London, and the Mayor must lead the way in
building affordable homes for Londoners.
"Many people struggle to get onto the housing ladder, with
house prices increasing faster than earnings. There are financial
challenges within the housing sector, and it is vital that the
Mayor, Government, housing associations and local councils work
together to deliver the level of housing Londoners need.
“The Mayor announced earlier this year that he had met the
target for the £4.82bn Affordable Homes Programme 2016-23. Whilst
this is a step in the right direction, it is vital that the
number of completions starts to grow, as Londoners cannot move
into half-built homes. As no homes have yet been started on the
£4bn 2021-26 programme, it is also important that the Mayor gets
moving on this as soon as possible.
“The Housing Committee is keen to see housing delivered in
London, and will continue to scrutinise and work with the Mayor
to ensure housing targets are met.”
