London starts on just over 1,200 affordable homes in first half of this year

Last year, a total of 3,991 affordable homes were started. This was higher than the 2,358 starts in 2023-24, but still the second-lowest on record and well below the 25,658 achieved in 2022-23.

The data also shows that 2,904 affordable homes have been built in the six-month period, including 1,665 homes for social rent. At the current pace, the capital will finish around half of the 11,636 homes it built in 2024-25.

As for homes built by councils through GLA programmes, there were 1,032 completed in the six-month period. Last year, a total of 3,690 were built, which according to City Hall is the highest number on record.

With London’s housebuilding rates crashing, earlier this year the GLA and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government agreed to lower London’s target for the AHP by more than a fifth. It is now between 17,800 and 19,000 starts. 

Yet with less than a year left to run, more than 12,000 of these builds are not yet underway, according to data released in July by the London Assembly’s annual affordable housing monitor. As of July, work has started on just 5,188 homes, or 29% of the target. 

In a bid to tackle the capital’s housing downturn, last month the government set out “emergency” measures to resuscitate the market, including a controversial move to lower affordable housing targets on developments.

A spokesperson for the mayor of London described the figures as “encouraging”, pointing to the 113% year-on-year increase in affordable homes being started. In the same six-month period in 2024, 582 homes were started.

“The mayor is committed to building on the progress which has already been made in the capital, with more new council homes started in London than at any time since the 1970s and, prior to the pandemic, more new homes completed in London than any time since the 1930s.”

The spokesperson added that there was still “a lot more work to do” to tackle London’s urgent housing crisis and the perfect storm affecting housebuilding in London.

“That is why Sadiq is continuing to act, backed with a record £11.7bn government investment. The mayor is taking hard decisions to boost housebuilding, including actively exploring development on the green belt and working closely with the government on a bold package of new measures to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes in London,” he added.

Under the new emergency support package, which is still under consultation, developers building in the capital will be able to opt for a “fast-track” planning route with a target of just 20% affordable homes, rather than the current threshold of 35%.

The new “time-limited” route, which will run until March 2028, will also allow developers to access grant funding for around half of the affordable homes in a scheme, with bids to be submitted by registered providers or local authorities.