Between 2012 and
2016, there were 177,590 too few homes built in London - the highest shortfall
in England.
The shortfall is
over seven times higher than many other regions in England and is over double
the next highest region, the South East, which has a shortfall of 85,284.
The new figures are
revealed in a report London Home
Truths 2017/18 by the National Housing Federation, which analyses key
housing data across England annually.
The National Housing
Federation, which represents housing associations, social landlords to over 2.7
million homes, says most of this housing gap could be met by unlocking public
land. The City Hall’s register of public land shows there are 36,287 sites of
public land that could be built on. According to the Mayor of London’s office,
if all of these were unlocked, a minimum of 130,000 homes could be built.
The brownfield land
is owned by the Mayor of London, Government departments, London boroughs,
Transport for London and the NHS.
The housing
association sector is working to battle the capital’s housing crisis,
completing nearly 9,000 new homes during 2016/17 and starting a further 13,585.
Ruth Williamson,
External Affairs Manager for the National Housing Federation, said: “For too
long not nearly enough affordable homes have been built. If we want to get
serious about ending the housing crisis, we need to start looking at these
public sites, and build on them for public good.
“The bottom line is
– more affordable land means more homes will be built quickly. With local
elections coming up, this is a crucial time for candidates to face the facts
about London’s housing crisis, and speak to us and make sure that solutions
such as partnerships with housing associations are at the top of their priority
lists.”
