New chair of London’s largest landlord group calls for return to rent convergence

A reclassification of social housing as infrastructure, alongside a return to rent convergence for the social housing sector, are among the key asks ahead of next week’s Spending Review.

The pair added: “Rent convergence ensured that social housing tenants in similar homes paid a similar rent, taking into account local incomes and property prices and establishing a national formula rent. This was a matter of basic fairness.

“London social landlords were especially impacted by the decision to stop convergence, since the gap between formula rents and average rents remained relatively high in the capital when the policy ended.”

Mr McDermott succeeds Fiona Fletcher-Smith, the chief executive of L&Q who chaired the group since June 2023.

Before this Labour government was elected last year, Ms Fletcher-Smith told Inside Housing she had serious concerns about unrest and where the housing crisis was going unless the government changed its approach.

For Mr McDermott, rent convergence is only part of the solution to address the crisis. It should include greater investment in the Affordable Homes Programme, and a revisiting of the 2012 HRA debt settlement.

At the turn of the year, he explained how the sector can build more homes, and how one of the sector’s largest landlords manages its housing stock. But he takes on his new position at a time when a recent development report by the G15 revealed a 66% drop in housing starts by London’s largest social landlords since 2022-23.

Just 4,708 new homes were started in 2024-25, down from 13,744 two years earlier.

In the final quarter, there was a 7% drop compared with the same period in 2023-24. Completions also fell, with 9,200 homes handed over in 2024-25, an 11% decline from the previous year’s 10,356.

Following the figures, published in the G15’s first development report for 2024-25, the group called for urgent action on London’s “deepening” housing crisis.

Responsibility for chairing the G15 rotates between members every two years, therefore Mr McDermott will be in post until June 2027.

He will be supported by Clare Miller, group chief executive of Clarion, who will take on the role of vice-chair.