London’s waiting list for social housing has reached a ten-year high, according to the latest government data.
Figures show there are now 336,366 households on the waiting list, making this the highest figure for more than a decade, the previous record being 344,294 in 2013.
London also accounts for 25% of England’s national total, making it the largest waiting list in the country, and the cross-party London Councils group has warned that the capital faces a homelessness emergency, with the acute shortage of affordable homes a key factor behind this.
London Councils’ executive member for housing and regeneration, Councillor Grace Williams, said: “London is grappling with the most severe housing and homelessness crisis in the country.
“The capital is becoming increasingly unaffordable and, as these numbers demonstrate, there is a desperate need for more social housing.
“Boroughs are doing everything we can to build the affordable homes our communities are crying out for.
“However, we are also struggling with enormous resource constraints and immense challenges to housing delivery in London.”
Analysis by London Councils suggests that more than 183,000 Londoners, equivalent to at least one in 50 residents of the capital, are currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation arranged by their local borough.
Despite the need to both improve housing conditions and build new homes, London Councils’ analysis suggests that boroughs are missing £700million of their social housing finances over the 2023-24 and 2027-28 period.
This reduction in resources is due to the combination of fast-rising costs and the previous government’s cap on social rent levels.
Boroughs are also struggling with record numbers of homeless Londoners requiring temporary accommodation, with London Councils estimating that boroughs collectively spend £4million every day on temporary accommodation, which has increased 68% over the past year.
London Councils is prioritising addressing the social housing financial crisis, with boroughs rallying for more financial support.
They want future social rents to be set at levels that sustain boroughs’ social housing budgets and enable more investment in new social homes.
They also want to lift the cap on local housing allowance for temporary accommodation in housing benefit subsidy, which was set in January 2011 which limits the amount local authorities can claim from the government to cover temporary accommodation costs.
London Councils’ data from 24 boroughs shows a gap of more than £96m in 2023-24 between the cost of providing temporary accommodation and what councils can recover from government through the housing benefit subsidy for temporary accommodation.
The subsidy gap is a concern for London boroughs, as they increasingly rely on relatively high-cost temporary accommodation options in B&Bs and commercial hotels.
Additionally, they want to make the increase in local housing allowance rates a permanent measure.
Research published by London Councils shows only 5% of London’s private rental listings in the capital are affordable to households relying on local housing allowance.
Boroughs are calling for the increase in LHA rates to become a permanent measure, with annual updates to track market rents and help ensure adequate support for low-income tenants in the private rented sector.
Picture credit: Free to use from Unsplash
Join the discussion