London affordable homes: Construction of new properties down 88%

A spokeswoman for London Councils, the capital’s local government association, said although London saw more council-built homes started in 2022 than any year since the 1970s, market conditions for starting to build new housing were “currently incredibly tough”.

“There are 287,000 potential new homes in London with planning permission, including 70,000 affordable homes, that have yet to be built,” she said.

“There are a lot of barriers to unlocking these sites – such as skyrocketing construction costs, and in recent years, a lack of capital funding and infrastructure.

“On top of this, London’s higher land values mean that current grant levels are insufficient to secure the viability of schemes.

“Many boroughs can’t make up the shortfall – across London there’s a cumulative £700m funding gap in social housing budgets.”