Affordable housing starts across London have plummeted in recent years, despite calls from politicians for more to be built.
One London borough has seen a decrease of almost 100 per cent. In Ealing, the number of affordable housing starts plateaued by 99.37 per cent between 2022/23 and 2023/24. This led to a grand total of 13 housing starts last year, down from 2,070 the year before.
This is a trend seen across London, with Greater London Authority (GLA) data indicating there have only been 347 in the first quarter of the current financial year. If this trend continues, by the end of the financial year there could be only 1,388 affordable housing starts across the city – the lowest since records began.
Ealing Council put this down to “financial challenges” facing housing providers. The local authority told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the council, and housing providers alike, are facing “higher borrowing and material costs” plus “competing pressures from remediation and refurbishment costs” and “changes to regulations”.
A council spokesperson pointed to the GLA’s 2024 housing report, which shows affordable homes fell by over 91 per cent between 2022/23 and 2023/24 across the city. The spokesperson told the LDRS: “Despite these challenges, the council remains committed to delivering genuinely affordable homes and continues to work with the GLA and other partners to bring forward new schemes.
“As well as directly building homes ourselves, like the recently completed schemes at Copley Close and Buckingham Avenue, we use our planning system to ensure that 35% of homes in private developments in the borough are affordable. We have also recently concluded a deal to buy 180 homes currently being built from a developer, to let to council tenants. Other similar deals are under consideration at the moment.”
The London Plan outlines that at least 35 per cent of new housing starts should be affordable, however a number of schemes across West London continue to fall below that benchmark, with developers arguing increased numbers of affordable homes impacts the financial viability of housing projects.
Councillor Gary Malcolm, Leader of Ealing Liberal Democrats, told the LDRS that the council has allowed developers to “rule the roost”. He said: “Liberal Democrats say that the Labour-run Ealing Council has allowed developers to rule the roost in Ealing.
“Developers often build large buildings, with too few truly affordable homes, whilst they are not building the homes they promise, meaning that we have too few homes, so rents are being pushed up. Ealing needs to be more proactive and work with both residents and developers to bring forward more mid level developments to provide quality homes.”
There are currently 7,500 households on the waiting list for a home in the borough, with an average wait for a three-bedroom council home sitting at 14 years. Each month, the council receives between 200-250 housing applications.
At the same time, private renting in Ealing has increased more than any other London borough in the last five years. A council report said that “very few properties are affordable to residents”, meaning a majority of residents on low to average incomes are becoming priced out of renting in the borough.
Another trend seen across the city is councils buying back homes from developers to use as affordable housing. In June, Ealing Council struck a deal to purchase 180 homes at the Green Quarter development in Southall, to offer as social housing.
The council’s recently unveiled housing strategy outlines a commitment to exceed its own baseline target of 40 per cent affordable housing, with a target of 50 per cent where feasible. Progress will be tracked through a delivery plan and reviewed annually.
Councillor Louise Brett, Ealing Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Safe and Genuinely Affordable Homes, said: “Our new approach to housing builds on the council’s pledge to be open, transparent, and inclusive, and to make sure that local people are at the centre of decisions taken.
“We already have one of the strongest home building records in London, and we want to continue providing the genuinely affordable homes that our residents need, in communities full of pride, identity, and purpose. We know that when it comes to building new homes, one size does not fit all, so we are adapting our approach so that we can respond to the different housing needs of each of the borough’s seven towns.”
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