Plans to boost London’s council housing supply by buying from the private market could save boroughs and the Government billions over the next 20 years, a report has found.
Sadiq Khan’s council homes acquisition programme (CHAP), launched in November, includes an ambition to acquire 10,000 council homes in the next decade.
Research by the New Economics Foundation found meeting this target would reduce London borough’s temporary accommodation costs by £1.5bn, trim government housing benefit subsidies by £340m, and generate additional indirect savings of £440m over the next two decades.
The report also said annual government-wide savings from the CHAP would outweigh annual costs after 16 years, and by year 25 the programme would have paid for itself.
However, with the scheme set to end in March 2026, the mayor’s office said the target to acquire 10,000 homes is ‘conditional on further support from government, including through a longer-term affordable homes programme settlement’.
