Sadiq Khan commits to delivering council homes

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has committed to delivering the council homes that London needs.

The announcement comes as new government statistics show that an average of 89 council homes a week have been started in the capital between May 2016 and the end of the last financial year.

The figures also show that last year, local authorities in London started building twice as many council homes than the rest of the country combined, with nearly 11,000 new council homes started in 2022/23.

The Mayor has urged the government not to give up on council housing.

According to statistics from the Mayor of London, Since 2016 - when Khan was elected - more than 32,000 council homes have been started in London, with 23,000 directly funded by City Hall. This compares to just 3,520 council homes started in London in the ten years before he became mayor.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “I am proud of the hard work and ambition shown by City Hall, boroughs and our housing partners to create a new golden era of council housing in the capital.

“We inherited a city where council homebuilding was nearly extinct and many believed it couldn’t be revived. We have proven them wrong and are now reversing the years of decline. Every new home we deliver, whether that is funded by City Hall or boroughs, is another London family given the secure, long term home they deserve.

“In contrast, the national figures for council homes are truly appalling. Today I’m urging the Government not to completely give up on council housing as a vital way of delivering affordable homes.”

“I grew up on a council estate, so I know the vital role council homes play in providing security for families. I’m determined that we continue to do all we can to build on the success of recent years, empower councils and work with all those involved in building new council homes, so we build a safer, fairer, greener and more prosperous city for all Londoners.”

Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE said: “It’s the housing policy failures of central government and their cost of living crisis which has led to the unprecedented housing crisis facing the capital; that the Mayor of London is tackling head on. Through a raft of measures, including the Building Council Homes for Londoners programme, families in Newham are reaping the benefits with access to council homes they can afford.

“Through grant funding from the GLA, we’ve been able to reboot council housing in Newham with 1275 homes being started over the past 5 years and over 1000 more council homes to come.

“Our track record shows how our collaboration with the London Mayor and GLA is putting councils at the forefront of housing delivery in the capital once again. Londoners are crying out for desperately needed and genuinely affordable homes. That’s why central government needs to turbo-charge Council-led house building in the capital by giving the Mayor of London the unallocated money to deliver 10,000 council homes in the coming decade.”