The measures announced over the past year by the government, including a 10-year rent settlement and the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP), have widely been seen as beneficial for affordable housing delivery and as a win for the social housing sector. London will receive around £11.7bn from SAHP and 60% of the £2.5bn low-cost loans.

There’s strong recognition by G15 housing association chief executives that the Starmer government has backed the sector, but it’s clear that London faces unique pressures and challenges that dampen the outlook for affordable housing development in the capital.

The past 12 months have been a rocky time for London housing delivery, with starts stagnating and schemes on hold due to viability issues and building safety delays.

The government has responded by bringing forward time-limited measures to get delivery in London moving through the emergency housing package announced last year. But in the here and now, with costs still rising, competing investment demands and a fragmented system under pressure, delivery in the capital continues to pose major challenges. London fell short of its annual housing target by around 58,000 homes last year.

At the same time, numbers in temporary accommodation and sleeping rough continue to rise. London Councils analysis shows that 210,000 people will be homeless and living in temporary accommodation on Christmas Day 2026, including 102,000 children.

This second State of the Capital report, produced by Housing Today in partnership with the G15, looks at several ideas that could be adopted to help rejuvenate the London market and get affordable housing delivery back on track.

It was informed by a meeting of G15 leaders, along with council and third sector representatives at the Building the Future conference in last October. The leaders will meet again at this year’s conference on 7 October in the City of London.

The report is written by Carl Brown of Housing Today, in collaboration with the G15.

Download the digital edition of the report