The London Assembly Housing Committee has published a letter today to the Mayor of London on non-construction methods for expanding social housing in London. The letter makes
recommendations on how the Mayor can utilise these ways to provide more affordable housing for Londoners.
Although newly-built social housing is a key priority, to meet existing and future demand for housing, existing homes need to be part of the equation.
Recommendations to the Mayor include:
- Assess the different models of expanding social housing to determine the potential contribution each could make to expanding supply.
- Work towards the next housing funding bid to Government to include an investigation into the potential costs and value for money of non-construction methods.
- Review the application of current conditions for acquisition in capital funding guidance to examine whether there could be more flexibility applied to standards, particularly when good quality former council homes are being brought back into social housing.
Siân Berry AM, Chair of the London Assembly Housing Committee, said:
“London desperately needs more affordable homes and I am really excited at the potential of alternative or non-construction methods in increasing the affordable housing stock. We are talking 6-8,000 more affordable homes to add to the mix, and they don’t have to be built from scratch because they already exist. These alternative methods could certainly be utilised more by the Mayor and local councils to help build the numbers of affordable homes London needs.
“Progress is being made right across London, but the Mayor needs to actively investigate and pursue these different methods. At the moment, they don’t feature within his Housing Strategy. If he is ever to reach the targets that he has set, overlooking these alternative ways will be to the detriment of Londoners, who deserve an affordable home to live in.” Photo by Paul the Archivist, Wikimedia commons.