London Considers Relaxing Affordable Housing Rules Amidst Record Homelessness
LONDON – Facing a spiraling housing crisis and potential council bankruptcies, London officials are considering reducing affordable housing quotas for developers, a move sparking fierce debate as the number of households in temporary accommodation reaches record highs. The proposals, spearheaded by Housing Secretary Steve Reed and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, aim to unlock stalled construction projects but are drawing criticism from Labor MPs and homelessness charities who fear it will exacerbate existing inequalities.
The debate unfolds against a backdrop of soaring rental costs, with the average London renter now spending between 40% and 50% of their income on rent. Compounding the issue is a surge in homelessness; official figures released Thursday revealed a record 74,720 London households – including 97,140 children – were living in temporary accommodation as of the end of June. A third of these households have been waiting for secure,affordable housing for at least five years.
London’s 32 boroughs spent an estimated £5.5m a day last year funding emergency housing,a figure described as an increasingly unsustainable burden that threatens the financial stability of some councils.
While plans to increase subsidies for developers building affordable homes and offer councils greater tax breaks are also under consideration, the potential reduction of affordable housing quotas has ignited the most controversy.
“My council will just use this as permission to build more yuppie flats and bring more people to the area so the current population can pay higher rents,” one London Labour MP stated.
Matt Downie, chief executive of the homelessness charity Crisis, warned that watering down affordable housing targets would be “really concerning.” He urged ministers to “stick to this focus, and work with organisations on sensible options to make this a reality, without rowing back on ambition.”
However, a government official defended the potential shift, stating, “This is an extreme problem, and we make no apologies for looking at extreme solutions.”
