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Affordable housing at heart of mayor's agenda for London, says expert


The mayor of London is targeting 90,000 new "genuinely affordable" homes for the capital, as well as better standards for private renters.

The proposals are at the heart of Sadiq Khan's draft housing strategy for London, which has been published for consultation.

The mayor's office will set aside an initial £250 million in funding, which will be used alongside £3.15 billion in funding from central government to buy and prepare land for new affordable homes, according to the strategy. Money made from selling this land to developers will then be "recycled" in order to buy further land for affordable homes.

However, the government must arrange for the "comprehensive and urgent" devolution of funding and planning powers to the city if all the proposals in the draft strategy are to be delivered.

"I've been honest from the start that turning things round will take time and fixing the housing crisis will be a marathon not a sprint, but my strategy sets out how we can start making a real difference to affordable housing in the city," Khan said.

"From £250m to kick-start my plans to secure more land for new and affordable homes, to a new model and fairer deal for millions of private renters, I want to help all Londoners facing the housing crisis. I will use my powers and resources to their fullest extent, but government needs to play its part too by giving London the powers and resources we need to see an even greater step-change in the number of homes being built," he said.

The strategy aims to address London's housing shortage through intensive use of available land in the city, with a particular focus on building more "genuinely affordable" housing. Part of the strategy will involve establishing "clearer definitions" of what homes are affordable, both to buy and to rent, for Londoners on low and middle incomes. They will include social rent levels for Londoners with the lowest wages; 'London Living Rent' set at a level which allows middle income earners to put money aside for the purchase of their first home; and shared ownership schemes.

Increasing the supply of new homes in London will require diversification of the housing sector, according to the strategy. This will require more funding for self-build, private rented developments, off-site construction and community-led housing projects. Councils will be set clear housing targets, including on small sites, while the way in which the Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy (MCIL) is charged will be changed to allow small and medium-sized builders to pay less up front.

The mayor will recruit new technical 'deal making' experts onto the Homes for Londoners team to identify and prepare the new sites, and is committed to use of his compulsory purchase powers where necessary to secure land for new and affordable homes. High quality, high density developments on brownfield land will be prioritised in order to protect the green belt. The strategy also proposes a new planning requirement, under which any affordable homes demolished as part of London regeneration schemes will need to be replaced on a 'like for like' basis.

Housing law expert Sarah Chapman of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the draft strategy "once again reinforces that affordable housing is at the heart of Sadiq Khan's agenda for London".

"The mayor is determined to increase the stock of affordable housing in the capital, and the 'like for like' replacement measure in particular assures that redevelopment in the City will not reduce that stock," she said.

"Following the recent Affordable Housing and Viability supplementary planning guidance, published in August this year, developers should be mindful of the increasing scrutiny their development proposals will be placed under and the need to adhere to the affordable housing agenda or risk the intervention of the mayor," she said.

The three-month consultation on the draft housing strategy closes on 7 December 2017, and requires the mayor to seek the views of statutory consultees including the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), London Assembly, local authorities and the government. The strategy will be finalised in 2018.

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