Mayor of London oversees just 71 completions under the current AHP in first quarter of 2024/25

Sadiq Khan has overseen the completion of 71 new homes between April and June this year, as part of the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme, according to the latest London construction figures from City Hall. 

During the same period, there were 150 starts under the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme (AHP).

Under the previous AHP (2016-23), the Greater London Authority (GLA) recorded 872 completions for the quarter. A further 69 homes were delivered under ‘other programmes’ between April and June.

This brings the total number of affordable housing completions for the 2024-25 financial year so far to 1,025, with affordable housing starts at 326.

>> See also: Flagship Affordable Homes Programme set to deliver as few as 110,000 homes

>> See also: London council sees housing starts slump by 96% in the past year

A GLA spokesperson said the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme only received funding approval from the previous government last summer, with the first starts later last year. As a result, it said it would not expect large numbers of completions at this stage.

As part of the government’s plans for a revised National Planning Policy Framework, the London mayor has been set a new target to deliver 80,000 homes per year.

The Mayor’s London Plan has a target to deliver around 52,000 homes per year, while delivery last year was roughly 35,000.

Although the previous government had set a target of 100,000 homes per year for London, Rayner said the new target to deliver 80,000 homes was “still a huge ask”.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The mayor has hit every Affordable Homes Programme target he has been set, including the landmark target of building 116,000 new genuinely affordable homes in the capital through the last Affordable Homes Programme, while the previous Government failed to hit its national target.

The statement added: “Despite a doubling of affordable housing completions in 2023-2024 compared to when Sadiq was first elected, these latest figures underline the major challenges currently facing the sector, including high construction costs, increased borrowing costs and the need to address building safety issues.

“The fact remains that London is still recovering from the disastrous inheritance from the last Government, which scrapped housing targets and brought housebuilding to its knees through a combination of underinvestment, policy uncertainty and indifference.

The spokesperson added that the mayor is “determined to build the genuinely affordable homes that London needs and is already working hand-in-hand with the new pro-home building Government to ensure London’s affordable housing delivery target is met, helping to build a fairer London for all.”

In July, senior officials in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed that the government’s £11.5bn 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) may deliver as few as 110,000 homes. 

The scheme was originally expected to deliver 180,000 homes through Homes England and the Greater London Authority, but this target has been repeatedly downgraded.

In September 2022, the National Audit Office said it expected completions to be 23,000 homes lower (157,000) and earlier this year Homes England itself admitted that the real figure would be “some way” lower than this.