London’s New Hyper-Local Affordable-Housing Targets Aim to Speed Up Delivery

Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled a revised London Plan that sets borough-specific affordable-housing percentages for private developers. In high-demand areas such as Wandsworth, Lambeth, Southwark, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, the City of London and Richmond upon Thames, the target is 35 per cent. A 25 per cent floor applies to Merton, Lewisham, Greenwich, Newham, Waltham Forest, Haringey, Brent and Ealing, while the remaining boroughs face a 20 per cent requirement. The tiered system replaces the “emergency” measures introduced by Housing Secretary Steve Reed in October 2025, which had cut the mandatory share from 35 per cent to 20 per cent. From 2028, the new thresholds will become law.

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Construction starts in London have collapsed by 84 per cent over the past decade, with only about 6,325 private-sector homes breaking ground in the first quarter of 2026—just 7 per cent of the city’s 88,000-home annual target. Rising labour and material costs, lease-hold concerns, and affordability pressures further dampen demand. Council-built homes remain a priority: since 2018, City Hall reports nearly 30,000 new council homes delivered or under way, accounting for 49 per cent of England’s new council homes last year.

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Deputy Mayor for Housing Tom Copley described the tiered approach as “more localised and granular” and said it is intended to “maximise affordable housing delivery.” Khan and Copley argued the plan will “provide certainty for developers who will know the different requirements in each borough” and “speed up” construction by cutting “protracted viability discussions where affordable housing thresholds are met.” Both officials framed the policy as a demonstration of what devolved powers can achieve for London’s unique urban context.

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The initiative is presented as a model for future mayoral authority. Copley called the London Plan “an example of what devolution can deliver for people,” noting that further devolution could allow mayors to raise local taxes and expand economic tools. Commentators suggest that the approach could inform the housing agenda of incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has pledged greater decentralisation and council-house building as central pillars of his national policy.

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Verbatim Quotes

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• “more localised and granular” — Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing

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• “maximise affordable housing delivery” — Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing

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• “provide certainty for developers who will know the different requirements in each borough” — Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

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• “speed up” the building of affordable housing by reducing “protracted viability discussions where affordable housing thresholds are met” — Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

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• “an example of what devolution can deliver for people” — Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing

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• “Further devolution, of course, would give us the ability to do more of that.” — Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing

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