Despite recent headlines hailing a leap in affordable homes, the number has been in remission for many years. According to the latest ONS data, the number of affordable homes delivered annually has barely shifted over 10 years, despite rocketing demand.
Sadly, the fall in affordable homes has been most violent in the city most in need of them. The building of affordable housing in London has collapsed by as much as 62% in some boroughs this decade, an analysis by property developer Southern Grove has revealed.
Half of all London boroughs have seen rate of new building tumble, with six London local authorities, including the City of London, seeing new supply of affordable homes fall by more than a third when compared with the noughties.
Hammersmith & Fulham and Redbridge were the worst performing boroughs, with the number of new affordable homes created between 2010/11 and 2018/19 falling 61.6% on a like-for-like basis. In Sutton, the drop has been 45.4%, Richmond upon Thames saw a 39.5% decline and Haringey has fallen 34.9%.
The City of London saw the steepest fall in new affordable homes of any London local authority, recording a 64.1% drop.
As the 2010s draw to a close, the overall supply of new affordable housing hasn’t improved at all across the capital this decade.
In fact, it has fallen by 1.2% on a like for like basis, according to the latest government figures released by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)1.
Consistency remains a huge problem for London, with a THIRD of areas failing to maintain the same rate of building last year that they had achieved in the previous 12 months.
| Authority | Affordable homes provided 2018/19 | Change YoY | Change This Decade* |
| City of London | 0 | -100.0% | -64.1% |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 165 | 123.0% | -61.6% |
| Redbridge | 223 | 32.0% | -61.6% |
| Sutton | 195 | 3.7% | -45.4% |
| Richmond upon Thames | 45 | 40.6% | -39.5% |
| Haringey | 94 | -42.3% | -34.9% |
| Enfield | 110 | -46.3% | -25.7% |
| Bromley | 171 | 94.3% | -24.9% |
| Kingston upon Thames | 57 | 1.8% | -20.1% |
| Westminster | 276 | 53.3% | -18.8% |
| Merton | 51 | -60.8% | -17.1% |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 89 | 45.9% | -16.9% |
| Islington | 438 | 500.0% | -14.5% |
| Croydon | 427 | 175.5% | -10.6% |
| Hillingdon | 216 | 248.4% | -10.4% |
| Hackney | 342 | 10.3% | -8.9% |
| Hounslow | 494 | 54.9% | -3.0% |
| Ealing | 758 | 100.0% | 4.5% |
| Harrow | 134 | 162.7% | 10.1% |
| Lewisham | 350 | 6.4% | 12.7% |
| Tower Hamlets | 614 | -27.8% | 13.1% |
| Waltham Forest | 268 | -35.0% | 14.4% |
| Newham | 686 | 50.1% | 15.1% |
| Southwark | 607 | 45.2% | 15.3% |
| Lambeth | 287 | -6.5% | 17.2% |
| Havering | 51 | 75.9% | 18.5% |
| Camden | 236 | -28.3% | 20.3% |
| Wandsworth | 494 | 220.8% | 21.4% |
| Bexley | 163 | 19.9% | 22.4% |
| Greenwich | 303 | -3.8% | 27.3% |
| Brent | 436 | 240.6% | 28.0% |
| Barking and Dagenham | 275 | -14.1% | 30.5% |
| Barnet | 150 | -36.7% | 33.0% |
*MHCLG Table 1008C, total provision 2010-2019 compared with 2000-2009.
Analysis of the latest figures shows that last year Merton was the only authority where the supply of new affordable homes fell by more than 50% in 12 months. The borough created 60.8% fewer affordable homes in 2018/19 year on year while in Enfield the fall was 46.3% and in Haringey the decline was 42.3%.
The latest figures for 2018/19 show that the 9,205 affordable homes created were only just over half of the 18,120 created at the capital’s peak in 2014/15.
According to the London Assembly, there have never been enough affordable homes built in the capital. It estimates that 43,000 new affordable homes are needed each year up to 2041 to meet the demand.
