L12 group pledges to start 1,000 homes in London this year amid building crisis
The L12 is a group of community focused housing will start building more than 1,000 homes across London this year.
L12 group pledges to start 1,000 homes in London this year amid building crisis #UKHousingThe L12 group, which includes Poplar HARCA and Newlon Housing Trust, said it wanted to help tackle the London’s housing crisis after starts in the city dropped near record lows last year.
Its chairwoman, Anne Waterhouse, who is also chief executive of Wandle Housing Association, also called for fresh public funding to help its members build more homes.
“We are committed to build more in London, we are building in London, and we’d like to do more with the support of government,” she said.
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London’s social housing waiting list is at its highest level in over a decade with 336,000 households registered, about a quarter of the total for the whole of Britain.
In 2025, house building starts in the capital fell to the lowest levels since 2009, during the financial crisis.
Last October, ministers published a set of emergency plans to try and increase building, which included temporarily cutting affordable housing targets to 20%, rather than the previous threshold of 35%.
Tom Copley, the deputy mayor for housing, told Inside Housing last month that the drop in affordable housing thresholds was “hard for all of us to swallow” but that it would lead to more homes being built.
The L12 group said the measures had “improved financial certainty for housing associations,” but called for more policies that would to boost the delivery of new social homes.
It said ministers should allow higher grant rates for organisations delivering mainly social rent housing in London, give faster access to safety funding, provide support for remediation in buildings below 11 metres, more grant funding and reforms to VAT to make it cheaper to regenerate existing homes.
Kate Franklin, the chief executive of Gateway Housing Association, said: “Our members are rooted locally and committed to continuing to build, improve and care for homes even in tough conditions.
"A safe, affordable home remains the foundation for opportunity, wellbeing and thriving neighbourhoods.”
Together the L12 members have built just under 7,000 homes over the last decade, accounting for around a fifth new social rented homes built in the capital during that period.
Of the 1,000 promised new homes, the group said “hundreds” will be social housing.
The L12 members are Poplar HARCA, Look Ahead, Phoenix Community Housing, Hexagon Housing Association, Richmond Housing Partnership, Croydon Churches Housing Association, Wandle Housing Association, Newlon Housing Trust, Gateway Housing Association, East End Homes and Karibu Community Homes.
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