Capital failure: Understanding the roots of London's housing crisis

Article

London's housing crisis is critical, and its problems are complex and well-entrenched. This short briefing addresses the root causes and impacts of the chronic undersupply of homes for the millions who call the capital home.

If we don't act now to improve housing supply, housing costs will continue to rise, homeownership will continue to fall, families and businesses will bear the brunt, and more people will feel that private renting – expensive, often poor quality and increasingly insecure – is their only option.

How did we get into this mess? The reasons are widespread – it's not just about planning and nimbyism. Tackling them at their core requires a focus on why we are not producing enough homes. In this short pamphlet we highlight what we see as the fundamental issues holding back the delivery of housing in the capital. These issues cut across the four main elements of housebuilding: land, planning consent, finance, and the housebuilders.

London's housing problems are unique in England but are not unassailable. Other cities in the world are more densely populated, more affordable, and better able to deliver more homes. There is no single magic bullet solution or simple policy fix. Tackling London's deeply entrenched problems demands an equally unique strategy and set of reforms, led from within the capital.

Related items

  1. Sad young woman sitting on the window

    The loneliest generation: What it is like to grow up in England today

    Connection should be the fabric that binds society together. But today’s young people have never felt more disconnected. 
  2. Man Writing Code on Desktop Computer With Multiple Monitors Set Up and a Laptop in Creative Office

    Bottleneck Britain: How digital competition could power UK growth and sovereignty

    Artificial intelligence could be the UK’s biggest economic opportunity in a generation, but only if its gains are spread across the economy rather than pooled within a handful of companies.
  3. A photograph of the UK houses of parliament in Westminster, with a background of pound coins

    Taxing times: Policies, politics, and principles

    This paper sets out proposals for the path to a better tax system, which is able to meet the demands of both the public and a more dangerous world.