Race is on for Sadiq Khan to hit agreed delivery under 2021-2026 programme
The Greater London Authority (GLA) will need to start nine in 10 of the homes promised under its affordable homes programme in the final two years of the latest £4bn funding round.
The mayor of London was allocated £4bn from the previous government to deliver between 23,900 and 27,100 under the 2021-26 programme. It was agreed that these homes must be started by 31 March 2026 and completed by 31 March 2030.
However, as of 31 March this year, only 1,777 of these homes had been started. This means more than 22,000 homes at least will need to be started by 31 March next year.
In its latest affordable housing monitoring report, the GLA said: “This programme faced delays attributed by the GLA to severely challenging market conditions, and delay by the previous government to release funding, which led to setbacks in contracts being signed with developers.”
Last October, Tom Copley, deputy mayor for housing and residential development told a GLA housing committee that “frustrating delays” to the release of funding caused by a dispute between the treasury and DLUHC had prevented the Mayor of London and his team from signing development contracts for over a year. The National Audit Office last year revealed errors in the programme caused by a “lack of understanding within the department and the GLA about when funding should be transferred”. This meant £1.8bn was given to GLA but not spent between April and October 2021.
>>See also: Sadiq Khan to divert affordable housing funds into buying existing private homes
This was followed earlier this year by a wider row on delivery between Khan and then housing secretary Michael Gove, who accused the mayor of being too focused on implementing affordable home targets at the expense of overall delivery
The latest figures also show that 88 per cent of homes started under the 2021-26 programme are for social rent, exceeded a 60 per cent minimum target agreed with the government.
The GLA also said it has completed 10,343 under the 2016-2023 AHP, and has completed 56% of the 116,782 homes expected. The GLA expects the remaining 51,412 homes to be completed by 2029
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