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The past year saw a “record-breaking” number of affordable homes started in London with City Hall’s support – but GLA Tories say the record needs changing.

GLA Tory housing spokesman Andrew Boff AM says a flip side to the stats plays out as a skipping track.

On paper, the latest stats show 14,544 affordable homes were started in the year 2018/19 – more than in any year since City Hall took control of housing investment in the capital and exceeding the target of 14,000 agreed with Government ministers.

And City Hall says this total includes more homes at social rent levels than ever before (3,991) and 1,916 council homes – more than in any year since 1984/85 – with the total number more than double the 7,189 homes that were started in the final year of the previous mayoralty (2015/16).

From City Hall, then, these figures underline “the Mayor’s determination to do everything in his power to tackle London’s housing crisis” as he urges Government to give him greater powers and resources to continue this success.

Sadiq Khan is investing £1 billion into building 14,700 new council homes, which includes 11,000 social rented homes over the next three years, having secured £4.8bn from Government to start building 116,000 new homes in the capital by 2022.

“These record-breaking figures show that focusing on building council and social rented homes for Londoners is the right way to tackle the capital’s housing crisis.

“Not only do these figures beat our own records from last year, but this is more than double the number the previous Mayor started in the final year of his term,” said Khan.

“My Building Council Homes for Londoners programme has made huge progress already – with more council homes started than in any year since 1985.

“Councils are beginning to build again after decades of their hands being tied behind their backs – but national Government needs to match our ambition and determination to deliver the homes Londoners so urgently need.

“We currently receive only a fraction of the affordable housing investment needed in London – Ministers must make a real step-change in the funding and powers we have in London if we are to truly turn around the capital’s housing crisis,” he said.

The GLA stats cover affordable home starts funded by affordable housing programmes under the Mayor.

Best available data for comparison over a longer period comes from MHCLG figures for permanent homes started.

And City Hall sees these as showing the number of homes started by councils in London was last greater than 1,916 in 1984/85 (1,990). 

  •              In 2018/19, 14,544 affordable homes were started in the capital – this includes 3,991 social rent level homes, and 1,916 council homes
  •              In 2016/17, 7,915 affordable homes were started in the capital
  • In 2015/16, 7,231 affordable homes were started in the capital 

To Boff, though, it’s an ‘eye of the beholder’ argument with the stats showing Khan not on track to achieve his target of building 116,000 homes by April 2022 and failing to match the achievements of ‘the previous Mayor’.

“Early on in his mayoralty, Sadiq Khan was given £4.82 billion by the Government in order to build 116,000 homes by April 2022. We are now halfway through this programme, yet the Mayor has only started 34,515 new homes – a meagre 30% percent of his overall target.

“The Mayor’s housing record over his first 3 years pales into insignificance compared to the track record of his predecessor. Boris Johnson managed to start over 43,000 homes between 2008 and 2011 despite having much less financial support from the Government,” said Boff.

“Far from breaking records, these annual figures are dwarfed by Boris’s performance in 2010/11, when he started 16,351 homes.

“Questions have to be asked about whether the Mayor’s figures can be trusted. Khan has  admitted that his stats from 2016/17 were wrong and we know that 10 percent of the affordable housing starts in 2017/18 were actually re-starts from the previous year – how can we be sure that the Mayor isn’t cooking the books again this time?

“Putting statistics aside, Londoners know first-hand that our city’s housing crisis is getting worse not better.

“For too many young Londoners home ownership remains an impossible dream, while a lack of family sized homes means that families are increasingly being driven out of our city,” said Boff.