Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey claims his proposed taxpayer-owned housebuilder organisation would help more young people in the capital to buy their own home.
Mr Bailey announced his plans for Housing for London on July 17.
He claimed it would be a City Hall-controlled body that would build more affordable homes than the 116,000 affordable homes target London Mayor Sadiq Khan says will be delivered by 2022.
If Mr Bailey is elected in May next year, he promised to dispense of Mr Khan’s long term goal to make 50% of all new housing in London ‘genuinely affordable’ in favour of an overall goal of 35% of homes costing less than full market price to rent or buy.
Mr Bailey said: “Housing for London will be run like a private company, but it’s not about making profit. It can pass all those savings to young people so it’s much cheaper to rent, and much cheaper to buy.”
In 2018/19, building of 14,544 affordable homes was started in the capital including 3,991 social rent level homes and 1,916 council homes.
A one-bedroom rental property in south west London currently costs between £938 to £1,395 per month according to the London Assembly ‘London Rents Map’.
Mr Bailey, pictured above, added: “Any conversation particularly with young people, young families, people who are not on the ladder and people who can’t afford rent is about the need for more housing. The reason homes cost so much is because they are scarce.”
Mr Bailey would use the remainder of the £4.82 billion funding given to Mr Khan by the Government to deliver additional homes.He has also spoken to financiers, housing landlords, private developers, RSL and pension companies about investment.
Once funding is secured, Mr Bailey plans to work closely with local authorities to increase the speed of delivery of these building projects.
Mr Bailey said: “The 50% target has slowed the Mayor down, it means he hasn’t reached the top target he initially said of 80,000 houses. He hasn’t reached the lower target of 65,000 houses and neither will he.”
Mr Bailey said he would add to infrastructure so residential areas with new housing also came with additional doctors and new roads.
He said: “You have to offer a lot of that local housing to local people so that their children can get a house as well.”
After viable sites have been identified, Mr Bailey would drive forward their development using mayoral development corporations (MDCs).
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson established two MDCs when he was London Mayor, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), whose territory is the 2012 Olympic Park and some of its surrounding area, and the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC).
Unlike Mr Johnson, Mr Bailey said he had no ambition to be Prime Minister.
He said: “If you look at Sadiq he is clearly trying to be the PM.“What I’m focused on is what’s good for London. And for me, that’s all I’m focused on.”
A spokesman for Sadiq Khan said: “Planning to scrap Sadiq’s tough rules around affordable housing is disgraceful at a time when London desperately needs more affordable housing, not less.
“Along with his opposition to rent control and saying that homelessness is just “hype”, Shaun Bailey has clearly shown that he is on the wrong side of Londoners.”
