{"id":669704,"date":"2026-01-02T20:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/669704\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T20:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T20:33:14","slug":"shortage-of-tradespeople-hindering-londons-housebuilding-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/669704\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Shortage’ of tradespeople hindering London’s housebuilding goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

New survey lays bare the difficulty Londoners and developers face in finding skilled workers for key tasks, reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"HousebuildingHousebuilding in London<\/p>\n

The extent of how London\u2019s construction skills shortage is slowing down building in the capital has been laid bare.<\/p>\n

New polling from Fix Radio\u2019s 2025 National Construction Audit, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), shows that more than a tenth of Londoners have waited for a handyman or electrician for over a year. Other figures from the dataset show that less than 5% of residents managed to get a roofer within a month, dropping to 3% with bricklayers.<\/p>\n

The knock-on effect of this is also highlighted, with 13% of respondents to the survey saying they delayed moving into their proposed new home because construction was not completed on time due to a shortage of tradespeople.<\/p>\n

The same proportion chose to buy an older property instead of a new build because they were told the build would take significantly longer than planned. Meanwhile, a tenth were forced to withdraw from purchasing a home altogether as building delays meant their mortgage offer expired.<\/p>\n

Clive Holland, of Fix Radio, told the LDRS: \u201cThe shortage of skilled trades in London is having a noticeable impact on the pace of building, repairs and maintenance across the capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemand for work is consistently outstripping the number of people available to do it, and that gap has been widening over time. Many tradespeople tell me that working in London has become increasingly challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cDaily charges, higher operating costs, the risk of tool and van theft, and general safety concerns all play a part. A number of people I know have chosen to move to areas like the Midlands or Bristol, simply because the day-to-day pressures are easier to manage outside the capital.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan, who has been tasked with ensuring 88,000 homes are built in the capital every year for the next decade by ministers, oversaw just 11,600 new properties last year.<\/p>\n

In September his deputy mayor for housing Tom Copley admitted there was a skills \u201ccrisis\u201d in the sector and suggested he feared there were neither enough trained workers nor teachers to tutor the next generation.<\/p>\n

Holland said the lack of training has, overall, lowered the quality of any homes that do end up being built.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile efforts to bring more young people into the trades are positive, fast-track schemes can struggle to provide the depth of experience required in safety-critical roles such as electrical and gas work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve already seen a rise in snagging and remedial work over the last few years, which suggests quality is being affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cLondon\u2019s housing challenge isn\u2019t only about the number of homes, it\u2019s also about having the right workforce in place to build and maintain them. Supporting tradespeople and making it viable for them to stay in the city would make a real difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holland called on the mayor to scrap Ultra Low Emission Zone and Congestion Charge costs for tradespeople to make it more cost-effective to operate in the city, as well as strengthening enforcement around hunting down tool theft.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything that makes it easier, safer and more viable for tradespeople to operate in London is likely to speed up building and repairs, and that could have a meaningful impact on easing delays across the city\u2019s housing system,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year a government spokesperson told the LDRS: \u201cYears of underinvestment in skills has created a dire shortage of construction workers \u2013 workers this country desperately needs if we are to meet our pledge to build 1.5million homes over the course of this parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough our Plan for Change we have taken decisive action to build up essential skills in the construction industry and are providing \u00a3625million of funding to create up to 60,000 more engineers, bricklayers, electricians, and joiners by 2029.\u201d<\/p>\n

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