Priced Out? The affordability crisis in London

Article

London’s housing market is increasingly unaffordable for those on low to middle incomes. While it has always been more expensive to rent or buy in the capital, the scale of the unaffordability of housing has never been greater. As a result, today’s Londoners or would-be Londoners face a range of consequences including lower levels of home ownership, increased overcrowding, and rising levels of homelessness and rough sleeping.

Building more homes, particularly affordable homes, will be crucial to tackling the affordability crisis that the capital faces. Yet the evidence shows that housing delivery is falling well short of estimated need – and the provision of affordable housing even more so. Despite a range of products on offer in the capital, the level of intermediate housing to rent and buy to support those on low to middle incomes is extremely modest. Moreover, our analysis reveals that many sub-market home ownership products on offer in the capital are in fact unaffordable and some fail to meet the aim of many households to achieve full home ownership.

The new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has made a promising start, committing to a long-term strategic aim for 50 per cent of new homes to be affordable, introducing lower benchmark rents for the London Affordable Rent product, and introducing a new intermediate product in the form of the new London Living Rent. However, there’s more that can be done at all levels.

Related items

  1. Newcastle street view of famous bridge and buildings

    The evolution of devolution: How the English devolution and community empowerment bill can go further

    The government’s early commitment to broadening and deepening devolution in England is very welcome, but the bill must be bold enough to make change that people can see and feel.
  2. A woman with long dark hair wearing a woolly hat puts her arm around her small son who is holding a teddybear. They're in a community centre in front of boxes of charitable donations

    Making the Child Poverty Strategy work for migrant families

    If we are serious about tackling child poverty, we cannot ignore the children of migrant families.
  3. Two young children run playing underneath a rainbow canopy in a park or garden

    It takes a village: Empowering families and communities to improve children's health

    How can we build the healthiest generation of children ever?