The capital’s affordable housing system is failing to keep pace with need despite public investment, according to the London Assembly Housing Committee.
A new report by the committee found that delivery under the Mayor’s Affordable Homes Programme has been slow, with 64% of homes still to be started as of September 2025, less than a year before the programme is due to end in March 2026.
Family-sized social rent homes and accessible homes for Deaf and Disabled Londoners are not being delivered at the scale required, according to the committee, and there has been a lack of progress in delivering sites for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
The committee called for a more targeted approach to funding affordable housing, and called for grant rates to be increased and for clear targets for family-sized and accessible homes to be set under the 2026–36 Affordable Homes Programme.
Chair of the London Assembly Housing Committee, Zoë Garbett AM, said: ‘Evidence to the Committee showed that rising construction costs, high land prices, increased borrowing costs and new building safety requirements have all reduced the capacity of councils and housing associations to bring forward new homes. Without changes to how funding is allocated, the report warns that delivery under the next Affordable Homes Programme risks falling further behind.’
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said that the housing crisis was a ‘top priority’ for the mayor but added that affordable housing was facing ‘a perfect storm’ due to a combination of the legacy of the previous government, high interest rates, the rising cost of construction materials, the impact of the pandemic and Brexit and Building Safety Regulator delays.
‘This year, we are encouraging housing providers to bid for a record government investment of £11.7bn through the Mayor’s Affordable Homes Programme to deliver social and affordable housing across London, including thousands of Key Worker Living Rent Homes,’ they continued.
‘We expect all home builders to adhere to London plan policies on wheelchair-accessible homes, and we particularly welcome bids for family-sized homes, as we continue to build a better, fairer London for everyone.’
