Ministers confirm plans to reduce London's affordable housing quotas

"Getting spades in the ground in London is crucial if we want to see the biggest increase in social and affordable housing and meet our target of delivering 1.5m homes. I have worked closely with the mayor of London to give the capital the shot-in-the-arm it needs to ensure more Londoners have an affordable home of their own."

"There is now a perfect storm facing housebuilding in London due to a combination of high interest rates, the rising cost of construction materials, the impact of the pandemic and ongoing consequences of Brexit. All of this means we are now in the midst of the most difficult period for housebuilding since the global financial crash. Urgent action is required, which is why I've been working with the government on this package of bold measures."

Plans reduce affordable housing quotas in London for fast-track planning from 35% to 20%, and require 60% of the 20% to be available at the cheapest social rents. The change aims to reverse a collapse in new housebuilding that shrank to only a few thousand units annually, with developers citing high interest rates, rising construction costs, pandemic impacts, Brexit consequences and sluggish planning. The package offers fast-track status to qualifying projects and includes penalties if firms fail to build quickly, obliging them to hand over some profits to local councils to fund additional affordable units. The measures have provoked criticism from homelessness campaigners and some Labour MPs.

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