Six months after our first blog, here’s the latest update on the Mayor’s plans on housing in London…
Homes for Londoners: top ten facts
1. Over £3 billion for at least 90,000 new affordable homes
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has secured record cash investment from the government to start building at least 90,000 new homes for Londoners over the next five years. His housing, planning and development teams here at City Hall will lead this work.
2. Genuinely affordable homes for sale and rent
He’s helping Londoners who want to buy but can’t afford market rates through shared ownership. He’s also cutting the cost of renting with two new schemes. London Social Rent helps make renting more affordable for people on low incomes. While London Living Rent helps those on average incomes save up for their own home. The first Londoners moved into London Living Rent homes in May and we are currently allocating money to councils and housing associations to build even more London Living Rent homes.
3. Half of new homes for Londoners to be affordable
The Mayor is asking for more affordable homes in housing developments across London. He’s already approved plans for Barking Riverside, which includes 10,000 new homes – up to half of which will be affordable.
4. Working together to fix London’s housing crisis
The Mayor can’t tackle London’s housing crisis alone. He’s working with local councils, housing associations and developers to build the homes Londoners need. He’s already announced a partnership with L&Q for 20,000 new homes across London. Of these, 12,000 will be affordable homes for sale and rent.
5. A fresh approach for London
The Mayor wants to work with City Hall’s partners in new ways to build the homes that Londoners need. To help, he’s made it easier for them to apply for funding and set out new planning rules to speed up housebuilding.
6. Improving the private rented sector
The Mayor’s new employers pledge on housing means over 100,000 Londoners now have access to tenancy deposit loans from their employer. He’s also made sure these loans are available to all staff in the GLA group. Find out more about how the Mayor is helping people renting privately in London.
7. Making better use of surplus public land
The Mayor is working with TfL and other public bodies so that more homes are built on empty land. He expects half the new homes built on land owned by GLA group organisations like the Met Police and London Fire Brigade to be affordable.
8. Making smaller sites available to support SME builders
We know small and medium sized businesses can play a bigger part in building the homes that London needs. That’s why the Mayor wants more small publicly-owned sites to be made available to small and medium sized developers, housing associations and community-led organisations.
9. More help for homeless
The Mayor’s ‘No Nights Sleeping Rough’ scheme has secured funding to help rehome people leaving hostels and refuges. He’s helping homeless people and domestic abuse victims move into their home with £50million from government and he’s secured £4.2million for three new projects to help London’s homeless.
10. This is a marathon, not a sprint
Fixing London’s housing crisis won’t happen overnight, but the Mayor will use all his powers to make this happen.
Find out more about Homes for Londoners.