The Mayor of London has called for stamp duty receipts to be devolved to London to fund affordable homes.
Just one in five of the 300,000 council homes sold off under the Right to Buy scheme since 1980 has been replaced, and home ownership rates among younger Londoners have fallen dramatically.
Sadiq Khan said the rising house prices in London generate £3.4bn which could be reinvested into construction to help the younger generation.
Mr Khan said: “Control of stamp duty has been devolved to Scotland and Wales and it’s vital that ministers devolve it to London too, which has a population larger than Scotland and Wales combined.”
According to City Hall the mayor receives £0.7bn from government to invest in affordable housing each year, a quarter of the amount required.
He said: “London’s housing landscape has worsened dramatically over the past 30 years, and we now risk a whole generation of Londoners being blocked from enjoying the benefits of a good quality, genuinely affordable home.”
In 1990, more than half (57%) of 25 to 34-year-olds and 49 per cent of over 65s owned their own home in the capital. But in less than 30 years this story has changed dramatically – now, less than a third (28%) of young people own their own home, while 72% of over 65s are homeowners.
