London has the biggest housing shortfall in the country

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.”