London Assembly members have questioned Sadiq Khan’s ability to deliver on his own housing targets.
According to the Mayor, London needs 43,000 affordable homes a year but the Assembly’s Housing Committee say the funding he’s allocated is only sufficient to part-fund less than half that number.
In its formal response to Mr Khan’s draft Housing Strategy, the cross-party Committee also questions whether any new homes built will match his campaign pledge to deliver homes which are ‘genuinely affordable’.
It adds that while City Hall’s own recent assessment of London’s housing market shows “that the majority of affordable homes required are homes for rent,” the Mayor’s own delivery plans show that two thirds of homes will either be for shared ownership or his ‘London Living Rent’ homes which are rented out at above social rent levels for a short period, after which the tenant is expected to buy the property.
The committee says it “is therefore very concerned that not only will your strategy not deliver enough homes, but perhaps more significantly, that most of those it does deliver will not meet the specific needs you have identified.”
Sian Berry AM said: “Unfortunately, we have doubts about the Mayor’s ability to deliver what was promised to Londoners.
“He estimates we need 43,000 affordable homes a year, yet his grants will part fund fewer than 20,000 affordable homes annually.
“The committee is also concerned that most of the homes this draft Housing strategy does deliver will not be ‘genuinely affordable,’ which is what the Mayor promised.”
Despite the doubts raised about the Mayor’s ability to deliver the correct number and mix of homes, AMs have welcomed commitments to make it easier for small builders to bring forward new developments and to support offsite manufactured housing.
