Housing starts rise sharply in London as GLA agrees delivery extension under Affordable Homes Programme

The GLA said the latest statistics show a significant increase in delivery last year, but this did not bring total starts under the AHP 2021-2026 into its target range of 17,800 to 19,000.

This target had originally been higher – at between 23,900 and 27,100 starts over the five years – but was cut this time last year.

To meet the lower threshold of the current target, the GLA needed to deliver 12,612 starts under the programme in 2025-26.

There were 9,147 starts on site under the AHP last year, and the total so far over the life of the programme is 14,335.

The GLA put this down to challenging conditions facing housebuilding in London, citing the impact of Brexit, the pandemic, high interest rates and the economic shocks caused by global instability. 

This means the capital is “in the midst of the most difficult period for housebuilding since the global financial crash”, the GLA said.

The extension for starts on site under the AHP, agreed with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, can be used in exceptional circumstances where there is evidence of external factors causing delay. Any extensions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 

A similar extension was granted under the 2016-23 AHP based on disruption from the pandemic.

City Hall also pointed to the mayor’s recent package of emergency measures to boost housebuilding in London, which included temporary relief for developers from the Community Infrastructure Levy.

A spokesperson for the mayor of London said the new extension for the AHP is “an important and necessary step to ensure the maximum number of social and affordable homes are started under the programme”. 

They added: “Alongside the package of emergency measures that the mayor and the government have put in place to kickstart the housebuilding market in the capital, we’re confident that this will lead to an acceleration in housing delivery over the months ahead, and we are already seeing that new housing starts have increased significantly from last year.

“It’s also the first time since GLA records began in 2008 that we’ve ever had five years running where we’ve completed more than 10,000 affordable homes each year.”