Mayor of London Sadiq KhanJohn Phillips/Getty Images
- New figures suggest housebuilding should increase from 29,000 homes a year to 66,000 a year to meet the needs of Londoners.
- London mayor Sadiq Khan said private builders had focused on building “too many luxury penthouses that only the very wealthiest investors can afford and nowhere near enough homes within reach of ordinary Londoners.”
LONDON — London needs to double its housebuilding activity to deal with a growing housing shortage, according to figures released on Friday by the mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
New figures calculated by City Hall found that housebuilding should increase from 29,000 homes a year to 66,000 a year to meet the needs of Londoners, 65% of which would need to be classed as “affordable.”
The shortage follows years of underinvestment, which has caused house prices to rocket.
The Labour mayor said private builders had focused on building “too many luxury penthouses that only the very wealthiest investors can afford and nowhere near enough homes within reach of ordinary Londoners.”
City Hall modelling suggests that the Conservative government would need to increase funding for affordable housing in London alone to around £2.7 billion a year — more than five times its current £0.5 billion level.
Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to hike funding by £0.2 billion in November’s Autumn budget.
The UK as a whole doesn’t have a housing crisis — London and the south-east do
Kath Scanlon, a housing research fellow from the London School of Economics, said: “The UK as a whole doesn’t have a housing crisis — London and the south-east do.
“The crisis stems from strong demand and weak supply, and the Mayor’s new figures emphasise the scale of the shortfall.
“London’s elected authorities could do much more to address the housing issue if they had the tools that major cities in other countries take for granted — particularly around taxation.”
Jonathan Seager, executive director of housing at business group London First, said: “These new figures show us that the housing crisis is worsening. It is now one of the most serious challenges facing business, preventing firms from recruiting and retaining the talent they need to grow and succeed.”
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