London's Economic Housing Policies and the Shortage of Affordable Housing

This dissertation examines one of the major challenges facing London, which is the housing crisis. It explores the affordability crisis, housing crisis, affordability of housing in London salary ratios to house prices, London housing strategy, and the use value VS exchange value. The analysis shows that the shortage of affordable housing in London is a result of economic housing policies. The dissertation provides recommendations for addressing the issue.

London's economic housing policies and how the use value of a home is overpowering the
exchange value of a home which has a detrimental impact on the shortage of affordable
housing in London.
By
Alexander Waithe
P12221732
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
of M Arch
Leicester School of Architecture
De Montfort University
2019
ARCH 5013
Comprehensive Dissertation
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
I confirm by submitting this work for assessment that I am its sole author, and that all

London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
quotations, summaries or extracts from published sources have been correctly
referenced. I confirm that this work, in whole or in part, has not been previously
submitted for any other award at this or any other institution.
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Executive summary
This dissertation is bound to examine one of the main challenges experience in
London, which is the housing crisis. This entails looking at the London’s affordability crisis,
London’s housing crisis, Affordability of housing in London salary ratios to House Prices,
London housing strategy, why more working-class people are now renting and not buying
homes, as well as the use Value VS Exchange Value. From the results obtained in the
dissertation pare, the problems of housing started way back in the early twenty-first century.
This comes at a time that most people started to get attracted to life in the city.
This resulted in a slow but steady increase in the price of houses in London, and
currently, the issue is on the peak. The various governments have not taken strong initiatives
to bring a solution to the matter, and this probably adds to the explanation of the issue is one
of the major crisis facing the United Kingdom, as per a read percentage of the residents in
London.
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
Table of Contents
Executive summary...............................................................................................................................2
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................4
Concept of affordable housing...........................................................................................................4
Literature review...................................................................................................................................6
Social renting and the rise and fall of public housing........................................................................6
Review of the London housing market..............................................................................................8
The cost of buying a residential property in London.....................................................................8
The cost of renting a residential property in London is also increasing.......................................11
Affordability of housing in London salary ratios to House Prices...................................................12
The Affordability of housing in London risks to the housing market and the responsiveness of
housing supply.............................................................................................................................13
Economic Affordability................................................................................................................13
The relationship between the earnings and the house prices in London....................................14
House price to earnings ratios by London borough.....................................................................15
House price to income ratios among those taking out mortgages..............................................16
Why more working-class people are now renting and not buying...................................................18
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION.................................................................................................................19
London housing strategy..................................................................................................................19
The vision and priorities of the mayor.........................................................................................19
I. Building homes for the Londoners.....................................................................................20
II. Delivering Genuinely Affordable Homes............................................................................22
III. High-Quality Homes and Inclusive Neighbourhoods..........................................................23
IV. A Fairer Deal For Private Renters And Leaseholders..........................................................25
V. Tackling Homelessness And Helping Rough Sleepers.........................................................26
VI. Tackling homelessness and its root causes.........................................................................30
Section summary.........................................................................................................................30
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................31
Bibliography.........................................................................................................................................32
List of Figures.......................................................................................................................................36
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
Introduction
Concept of affordable housing
The Plymouth city council has in the past defined the concept of affordable housing
as: 'Low-cost market, as well as subsidised housing which will be available to individuals that
are not in a position to either buy or rent or buy houses generally available on the open
market. There are certain demographic cleavages, which are caused by the concept of
affordable housing, for instance, inaccessibility of specific places within London by the
essential workers including the police officers, teachers, nurses, and doctors among others.
The problem of inaccessibility in comparison to the salary, which a person earns, it cannot
allow that individual to secure an affordable home (Abidi, 2018).
Additionally, the affordable housing issue has also been defined in the aspects of the
infrastructure needs. The needs have been explored in the below ways: employment and
employability, transport and infrastructure, the changing face of London's population, as well
as the competitiveness and culture. Hence, affordable housing is a situation where the number
of affordable houses for accommodation is not enough to satisfy the increased demand for
houses in general. This kind of situation increases the prices of the houses, which affected the
economy as well. Thus, this definition is ideal to the affordable housing concepts.
The concept of affordable housing is related to some extent, some of the economic
and social aspects such as crime, poverty, as well as social exclusion. This information is also
supported by evidence, for instance: an interview with Kate bond revealed her suspicion on
the social issues related to the affordable housing and would not allow her children to play in
such areas (Apple, 2014).
Ethically, affordable housing can be viewed in terms of the intentional causing of
housing shortages, which is being connected to issues such as poverty crime and low wages
for a specific group in society. Economically, the issue is regarded based on the factors of
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
supply and demand, and the available resources, which whisk the idea of ethical reasoning
towards the housing affordability.
The dissertation paper will be divided majorly into five sections namely, introduction,
literature review, discussion and analysis, conclusion and recommendations, and finally the
references as shown in the below section
 Chapter 1: introduction
This section will denote a synopsis of the affordability housing crisis in London and
perhaps the major aim of the dissertation
 Chapter two: a literature review
The section of the literature review will majorly focus on the previous literature in
regards to the housing crisis in London. It will be a comprehensive section as it
vividly presents the history and the background of the housing crisis, which is
currently one of the major challenges facing the residents in London, despite being
one of the most striking cities in the world to live
 Chapter three: analysis and discussion
The analysis section will cover a discussion of how the issue of affordable housing is
being addressed and the plans towards bringing a solution to the menace
 Chapter four: Conclusion and recommendations
This section gives a brief overview of the dissertation, highlighting some of the major
findings of the research, as well as giving some of the recommendations in regards to
the topic of discussion, which is Affordability of housing in London.
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
Literature review
Social renting and the rise and fall of public housing
One of the social issues, which have been in the public domain of the last three
decades in the United Kingdom, is the rise of housing in London. The social renting has
notably been on the long-term decline, which has been greatly sponsored by the waves of
rollout and rollbacks Thatcherite new labour neo-liberalism. Currently, the level of neo-
liberalism is tracing a different shape following the housing and planning bill 2015-2016,
which is under various parliamentary revision and is deemed the end of the council housing.
The public housing sector had all along been a great and massive aspect until the
1980s post-war housing issues, which led to a significant decline (Banham et al., 2012).
Various local council embarked on policies and building programs to revive the issue of
housing. As a result of the programs meant to revive the housing issue, there was an increase
of local authority houses and flats by close to 60% between the years of 1961 and 1981 as
demonstrated in the figure below for the London house table (Best & Kleven, 2017).
However, the figures for inner London were 43%, which were unprecedented for the
case of the long-term labour boroughs such as Southwark (65%), tower hamlets (82%).
Nonetheless, in spite of the massive reduction of the magnitude of the London council
housing stock, close to 440, 000 London households remained council tenants in the year
2011, whereas a number of the people resided on the estates built by the council as either the
private tenants or homeowners (Best & Kleven, 2017).
There is a notion shared in London, of a huge council scale as compared to the public
housing projects in the United States, as seen in the powers observations on the housing
council anguishing in a situation known as ghettoisation. Certainly, a number of the London
councils houses inhabitants the most deprived segments of the total population. However,
Wacquant argues that a spatial concentration of deprivation and poverty does not comprise
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
the ghettoisation factor (Barker, 2013). The major difference between the London local
council is that mostly they cater for a multi-ethnic population, majorly who either work as
part-time or full-time labourers while the united states local council estates carter for most of
the marginalised African-American communities.
A massive contraction has been experienced in the public housing sector since 1981,
coupled with overall minimisation in the establishment of social housing. As seen above,
there was an overstep into the council stock by the RTB and the action by the government to
withdraw the funding resulted in a decrease in the building of new homes. In the year 1988, a
stock transfer of homes from the government to the individual ownership was introduced
under the conservatives housing policies, which led to the DE municipalisation by
minimising the housing powers and the roles of the local public authorities who had been
elected (Beswick et al., 2016).
The stock transfer was rolled out, affecting most of the larger cities such as London,
Birmingham, and Glasgow. For the cash, strapped London Labour councils such as Lambeth
and tower hamlets got themselves locked out in the labour government. To levy funding from
the government, the majority of the local councils opted for stock transfers from the central
government, leading to transfer of 55000 homes in 15 boroughs from 1998 to 2007(Birns,
2019). Most of the council members, however, were in harmony with the significance of
preserving the council housing as seen in the majority of the transfers of the capital. Even
though there was an investment of funds in the existing council stock, the contested transfer
program renters from one tenancy to another with less security without considerably
complementing the overall supply of the social rental homes (Best and Kleven, 2015).
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
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Review of the London housing market
The current size of London is close to 8.2 million who are currently living in
approximately 3.3 million homes. The anticipation is that this population will be 10 million in
the next twenty years, with 3.9 million households accounting to close to thirty per cent of the
total growth. The new housing supply in London officially has lagged behind the household
projections. By the year 2033, the projection suggests that the new household will have
grown at a rate of c. 36000 annually. In the year 2022-2012, the average of the London
homes amounted to 24870, which was 24582 on average for the last five years (Blanchflower
& Oswald, 2013).
In 2022/12, the total amount of affordable housing was 4372 across the capital, in
contrast to the 16176 completions. Previously, the increased amount of the affordable houses
was as results of the fiscal stimulus kick start programs and monies. The figure below shows
new affordable housing completions (Beswick et al, 2016).
The cost of buying a residential property in London
Comparatively, the house prices in London are high by 57% as compared to other
houses in England. This figure continues to grow annually than in other places in the English
housing market. Significantly, London has previously experienced increased house prices in
the past 17 years than the whole of the country, in spite of a steep deterioration in the values
in the 2008/08 property market crash (Blanchflower & AJ Oswald, 2013).
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
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In twenty-four out of 33 London boroughs, over the last year, the house prices have
risen (Bowie, 2010). Also, a strong rate of growth has been recorded in both outer and inner
London, with an annual increase in London. By contrast, the nine London borough has
experienced a significant drop in the average prices, such as Greenwich and matron, with a
drop of over 2.5%. The diagram below illustrates the communities and local government with
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
The rise in the Affordability in London has been continuing with the mortgage
payments increasing nearly 20% high in London that in other places as shown below (Bowie,
2015).
As a result of these factors, an estimated 240000 households were overcrowded in
London.
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
The cost of renting a residential property in London is also increasing.
Averagely, the asking price in London is highest in the country which is significantly
higher than in the southeast of England, and approximately twice as other English regions.
The figure below illustrates the average private monthly rents across England (Burgess et al.,
2010).
The differential keeps increasing annually with an increase of 7% in major parts of the
country. However, the rise continues, but the rental yield has stagnated to 5 %, which is a
great challenge towards attracting the intuitional investment to enhance the supply in the
sector. London has a distinct mix of tenures and households compared to the rest of the
country.
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
Affordability of housing in London salary ratios to House Prices
The figure below exemplifies the recent UK House Price to income ratio and
Affordability as of twenty-first September 2017 (Bowie, 2019). For the figure above, it
indicates that for the first time buyers, the average cost of buying a house is over five times
the price of acquiring the house. This value is much on the higher side as compared to the
previous trends.
Additionally, there exists a regional disparity, where the ration of the house price to
the earnings is close to ten times in London. According to the research, this is the highest
record in London ever since. This measure provides a food indication of places around areas
where the issue of Affordability can be traced. One of the major contributors to this kind of
high ratio is the falling over of the rates of mortgages over the period, decrease in wages
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
across the entire united kingdom, as well as an increase in the buying power of the
households, form the house dealers. Currently, the average price is £496000, whereas the
annual average earnings are £34, 200 in every year (Cheshire, 2017).
As long as the rates of the mortgages remain on the lower level, the economy will
continue to be enhanced. However, this results in a feasibility factor of increased rising of the
prices of housing, which is likely to end in no time soon. The increase in house prices has
gone up by 3pc, which is driven by the outskirts, whereas central London the prices seem to
be falling since most people are migrating to stay in the outskirts (Bramley, 2013).
The Affordability of housing in London risks to the housing market and the
responsiveness of housing supply
There exist several factors related to demand and supply, which could be related to
the fact of increased housing prices and inflation across London. Some of these fundamental
factors, which might have contributed to inflation, include the increased possibility of paying,
the increased desire of living in London, and the socio-demographic expansions of the
household size of London and its population as a whole. In this section, a range of indicators
was considered for the benchmarking the observable changes in the prices of houses to the
income ratio in London. These factors are going to offer us good grounds for the assessment
of the economic Affordability of the prices of houses in London, as well as the sensitivity of
the households in the credit market conditions (Carter, 2015).
Economic Affordability
One of the factors of assessing the economic Affordability is the extent to which the
cost of the housing is within the disposal of just an average buyer. This is easily attained in
terms of the prices of the houses in regards to the earnings and the incomes of the average
buyer. Further, it is looked at in terms of the expenditure in monthly periods as well as the
service charges (Cheshire, et al., 2014).
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
When the ratio between the income of the average buyer to the incomes is relatively
higher, it becomes an impossible task to buy a house in such a situation. Further, this results
in a downward pressure and reduced demand on the prices of such houses in a well-operating
market. Nonetheless, if at all the market is not influenced by the fundamentals of economics,
as have been elucidated in the sections above, then the affordability crisis is likely to lead to
an accumulation of unstainable debt in terms of mortgages which ultimately results into a
great threat to the stability of the economy.
The relationship between the earnings and the house prices in London
The median multiples describe the possibility of the housing being within range of a
buyer, also known as the ratio of the median house price to the median annual ratio earnings.
The yearly survey of earnings and hours gives the annual earning data, which is determined
based on the workplace-based earnings to the resident based earnings. The work-based
earnings are where the workers work, while the resident based earnings are where the
workers live. The overall picture of England remains unchanged irrespective of the patterns
of the commuting, the utilisation of the resident/workplace earnings.
In regards to the data obtained in the annual survey of earnings and hours, the median
salaries for the workers in London were close to 7% of the (£2300, which is higher than the
typical revenue of a London worker in the year 2013/2014. In 2014, the house prices in
London were close to ten times the median earnings, which, when compared, is less than
1997, which was just four times. However, in recent years of 2017. And 2018, the prices o
the houses have remained to be around 13 times (Cochrane et al., 2015)
The annual demographics survey indicates that there are high international standards.
Regarding this data, London is the sixth most expensive among the 86 major metropolitan
regions. Apart from London, the data suggest that not only the issue of housing affordability
is rampant also in regions such as Hong Kong. However, these figures need to be treated with
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
a lot of keenness since there exists a difference in terms of how regions determine their
incomes and house prices. For instance, in terms of quality and size of housing, or in terms of
the variances in the manner in which the regions are defined.
In this particular context, the earnings, are taken as the average measures which cover the
entire population. The determination of house prices, on the other hand, relates to places
where the income of a particular group of people is higher than the rest of the group. For
instance, in 2013, Stephen nickel restricted himself when analysing the top 70% of those who
were on payroll on the grounds of the majority of the other population are on state benefits
and thus would most likely not be, I need of the market for the houses (Crilly & Lemon,
2018).
In other research conducted by Cheshire, it reveals that buying of the houses is
primarily done by the households who have income in the bracket of 70% of the entire
distribution (Crilly & Lemon, 2018). Determination of the price of houses against the income
of the residents in this third percentile implies that the average of the price of the houses to
the resident's income is 10.9 compared to the 22.7 in terms of the median earnings (Edwards,
2015). The gap between London and England in terms of the ratio keeps widening over the
last two decades. The figure below indicates the median house price-earnings to the ratio of
the income (DCLG, 2014)
House price to earnings ratios by London borough
In terms of comparison, the workplace earnings are higher than those of the local
resident, which attracts employment from commuting from other places such as tower
hamlets and hackney. However, the reverse holds for the residents in locations such as
Cleese, Kennington, Bromley, Richmond, where the resident median earnings are great for
those that work within the local administrative boundaries. Generally, the local authorities
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
which are characterised with highest earnings tend to suffer from high house prices and rates
which keeps on going up
With the rapid increase in the ratio of the house prices to the income of the residents,
the median earnings have also gone up at a relatively higher rate. When we consider the
residents, who are on the third percentile and are working on a full-time basis, their earnings
are relatively not sufficient enough to offset the housing prices. For instance, many areas in
southwest London, as well as the parts of inner London, the median house process in 2018,
was thirteen times higher than the third percentile earnings of the local residents, a figure 5.4
times when compared to England as a whole (Harvey, 2012).
The slow rate of earnings relative to the inflation of the prices of the houses has
implied that there is an increase in the differential on an annual basis since the 2008
recession. The affordability crisis measures with regards to the earnings did not attain the
household roles in the entire multiple earners, thereby failing to take account of the non-wage
incomes. Economically, the slow rate of house purchases not being aligned to the individual
earnings in London does not necessarily imply that London's houses cannot be afforded.
Rather, it is imperative to consider the instances and aspects, which makes it difficult to
purchase a house in London (Healey & Perry, 2015).
House price to income ratios among those taking out mortgages
Another aspect of considering the Affordability of housing is in regards to the
relationship between the prices, which are paid in terms of the property to the incomes of
those buying the houses. The ratio which results, known as the income multiple is with
regards to the joint incomes and the gross incomes of the buyers, which directly depicts the
role of the dual-earner household. Such kind of measures does not include the estimated 37%
of the total transactions in London, which relies on the mortgage to finance the purchasing of
the houses.
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
The London pre-crisis based on the data from the one range between 2.4 and 4.6 times
the applicant's mortgage incomes, which is notable across the entire United Kingdom.
Research also indicates that the average price in London is eight times the average income of
mortgage applicants in London as compared to the applicants in the entire United Kingdom.
Despite this figure reflecting the recent increase in the price of houses, there is also likeliness
that it captures the probable variations in the mix of the applicants who have the capability of
securing the finance for the mortgage.
From the perspective of a mortgage lender, the ability of the applicants to pay back
the mortgage determines the economic Affordability of the prices of the houses and not the
prices of the houses themselves. Initially, which is before the United Kingdom’s government
mortgage market review in April 2014, great scrutiny was introduced to review the ability of
the applicant to repay the mortgage, as it was earlier determined in regards to the income of
the applicants, also regarded as the income multiples.
In terms of this measure, and while utilising data from the council of mortgage
lenders, the median most of the mortgages which were secured rose from 2 to three times
higher than the median income of the buyer in the early 90s, to over five times the income of
the borrower in the tear 2016 (Crilly & Lemon, 2018). During this period, the multiples
income in London has been generally high than other parts of the United Kingdom, between
the years 1980 to 2018. This fact is a reflection of the increasing quantity of mortgage loans
in London, which offers a reflection of the increased prices of houses in the capital. By
extension, it also offers a reflection on the inflated fuel prices at the capital, as well as the
applicant’s profile and the number of joint applications in a given period.
Most of the relationship presented between the income of most of the Londoners, the
buyer's incomes and the prices of the houses suggest an increase in the affordability gap
which cannot be explained only in terms of the house price inflation in London. Nonetheless,
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
looking at the trends in Affordability, the access to the amenities as well as the ratios and the
multiples offers a clear explanation of the affordability gap. Information from various
academic research suggests that the advantages associated with urban living may explain to
the differences in the cost of housing across the cities over a given period. For instance,
currently, the cities have tended to be safer, with vibrant cultural life and reduced rates of
crime, which attracts more talent.
There exist a lot of evidence which explains the reason why London has become an
increasingly exciting place to reside in. The growth in population and the ability to attract the
younger generation across the United Kingdom and the rest parts of the world are among its
heritage factors. However, there exits limited evidence which can be practically substantiated
as to why these factors can be accountable to the variations in the prices of houses in London
as well as the ratio of the income to the housing price (Stephens & Whitehead, 2014).
Why more working-class people are now renting and not buying
Currently, most of the working-class people in London tend to rent a house instead of
buying. This is a fact, which is associated with high rates of housing in London. From the
discrete description above, the ratio of the price of housing to the ratio of the income of the
individuals working in London is close to fourteen times high. This implies that it becomes a
loss when one buys a house, and would rather opt for renting in London. Research indicates
that currently, the number of those renting houses has outshined the number of those owning
the hoses. The anticipation by 2025 suggests that the ratio of the home renters to the
homeowners will reach close to 60%. This kind of shift from ownership to rentals is likely to
results in several consequences.
With a fast rise in the city's population, the housing prices have become unaffordable.
Further, the proportions of the homes which are built are also dropping. In terms of practical
valuations, in 2017, the average home price for the city is now £643,843 ($932,000). The
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
current median annual salary in London now stands at roughly £34,000 ($48,000). This
mismatch makes buying a home impossible for most people (Crilly & Lemon, 2018).
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
London housing strategy
The housing strategy of London lies in the vision of the current mayor of London,
Sadiq khan: which he published in late; last year after a comprehensive discussion with other
stakeholders. The report is two hundred and sixty-four pages long, explaining the strategies in
terms of the long terms policies, the proposals as well as his vision in terms of tackling the
housing challenge that has been experienced over the years. Despite the implementation
seemingly take off after few years to come, the central strategy is on prioritising the building
for a majority of the homes for the Londoners, and in specific those who own the homes
genuinely (Hilber, 2019).
The vision and priorities of the mayor
For progressive development and growth, the mayor has incorporated the construction
of the right mix of homes and addressing some of the challenges encountered in a housing
affordability crisis. The dream is for every Londoner to have access to a home at an
affordable and friendly price, which suits them. By this statement, the implication is that of
meeting the housing needs in full capacity, more so the genuinely acquired ones. By
extension, it is the creation of a city, which allows for the thriving of the various business. As
well, it becomes a better platform for those, which have from all occupations, and desires to
fulfil their potential. In the document, majorly, there are five areas of key/priority concern,
including:
 building homes for Londoners;
 Delivering genuinely affordable homes; (Stephens & Whitehead, 2014).
 high-quality homes and inclusive neighbourhoods
 a fairer deal for private renters and leaseholders;
 tackling homelessness and helping rough sleepers
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
All the five plans are centrally geared towards ensuring that every Londoner owns a
home, and specifically homes, which are easily affordable to the Londoners. This strategy is
believed to be a long-term strategy for solving the housing crisis. However, to do so, will
entail actions to unblock housing sites that have been stalled, including the site of
construction, personnel in charge and how the construction of the structures will be done. The
objective is clear such that it aims to address the housing challenges without interfering with
the open spaces and the green belt. This simply implies that construction of the houses needs
sites with higher densities, which ensures that most regions of the city have a fair share of the
new affordable homes. The construction of the new homes is also aimed at ensuring the
safety and security of the occupants.
The Londoners also need to be involved in the construction of the buildings, which also aims
at ensuring low carbon emissions. In the sections to follow, clear details of London’s strategy
as per the mayor's vision will be described. The final section will entail the anticipations of
the mayor towards the housing associations, councils, as well as the private developers.
I. Building homes for the Londoners
Solving of the major challenge facing the Londoners I s by the construction of new homes, as
per the mayor's strong conviction. However, it remains that these new homes need to be
affordable for citizens. For many years, there has been a great void in terms of construction of
affordable houses for the citizens. Most of the reliance has been on a narrow range of sites,
developmental models, and such types of homes. Hence, to fully address the issue, a
specification has to be tabled in terms of the regions where the houses will be built as well as
the manner I and who will construct them. The building of the affordable homes will entail a
lot of activities, both from the side of the mayor, his supporters and other parties as discussed
below (Stephens & Whitehead, 2014).
Identifying and bringing forward more land for housing
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
In the prevailing London strategy, the policies, together with the land market, have
not managed to address the issue by bringing more sites where construction of more homes
can be done. However, in the mayor's vision, the plan is to intervene in the land market as
well as increasing the supply through supporting intensive land utilisation. This will entail
making good use of the existing land assembly powers, investing in the infrastructure and
promoting the ongoing, ready, and viable projects. To donate more land for the construction
of homes, the mayor aims at cooperating with the public landowners so that they lead from
the front (Merrett, 2017).
Protection of the green belt will be possible via the promotion of higher density
schemes. Development in the brownfield sites will be among the top priorities, both inside
and around the town centres as well as on Meier sites in zones, which traditionally had been
habitats for fewer new homes.
Investing in homes and infrastructure:
There is a significant role played by public investment in supporting and sustaining
homebuilding. Some of the significant ways in which it helps in the sustainability of the
home building is speeding up the build rates, availing more land for construction, and
unlocking the stalled schemes. The resources which will fund the project of affordable
housing will come from the national programs, mayors resources, the housing infrastructure
fund, and the affordable homes program. The target areas for investment will be on regions
with capacity for affordable housing and the newest homes. By extension, there are plans of
assisting the homebuilder's asses fund without much constrains.
Nonetheless, supporting the new homes will also not be possible without investment
on the new transport schemes, for instance: major new rail lines such as cross-rail 2, and
rapid bus transit is the soft stages, as well as local investments, aim at making walking and
cycling easier.
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
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Diversifying the homebuilding industry:
The building of affordable homes will promote an increase in the levels of
homebuilding in London. Further, the involvement of other organisations and the council is
also significant towards ensuring the success of the whole process. To attract the traditional
private sector, the mayor is set to offer a variety of packages. He is in support of the new
purpose-built private rented homes – the Build to Rent sector (Stephens & Whitehead, 2014).
This additionally helps in ensuring theta there is the adequate renting home, which is as well
affordable for the people.
The small and medium-sized homebuilders will also not be left out in this kind of
noble project. They will receive support from the mayor and other organisations, the meeting
of the housing targets will depend on the support to associations, which the mayor has
approved in the name of strategic partnership. In conclusion, the mayor is set to closely work
with the councils to enhance their hustle for the construction materials for the new housing.
Improving the skills, capacity, and building methods of the industry:
Currently, the number of the person with the appropriate construction skills in London
is very limited. By extension, few individuals will be able to choose it as a career subject.
This means that most of the building techniques which are in London are traditionally based,
which may not sufficient enough for the construction. The mayor tends to address these
problems by improving the construction skills training system as well as the introduction of
the risks posed by the Brexit menace. A variety of coordinating activities an leadership in the
system will also be eminent for the success.
II. Delivering Genuinely Affordable Homes
The primary aim of the mayor is to construct affordable homes for the Londoners who
belong to the low and middle-income level. The success of London relies on the ability of a
mixture of people to live in there, which I grounded on social housing.
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
Ensuring homes are genuinely affordable: (Stephens & Whitehead, 2014).
The terms affordable has caught the majority of the Londoners wondering its
meaning, with the hope that the new homes will genuinely be affordable. Categorically, the
mayor will update the people on the homes which are appropriate for the middle and the low-
income citizens. The major investment targets those who are living in low-income homes and
struggling to save for the deposit. Shared ownership is deemed to be the solution to the
Londoners who are not able to afford in an open market. Additionally, encouragement of the
innovative forms of affordable housing designs will also be among the priorities of the mayor
(Ronald, 2015).
Working towards half of the new homes built being affordable: there is a long term
strategy for 50% of the new genuinely affordable homes (Watt & Minton, 2016). Ensuring
that this will occur involves ensuring that more affordable homes are part of the planning
system, including tracking developments. To help kick-start construction of 116000
affordable homes by 2022, the mayor will invest £4.82 billion towards the same. He will also
be obligated to working with others to ensure that genuinely affordable homes are availed to
the people.
Protecting London’s existing social housing
Despite the numerous measures geared towards achieving affordable housing,
working towards protecting the existing London special housing is also key. It is the intention
of the mayor for people to purchase homes through the right channel, for instance: via the
right to buy, demolished for development, among others. Large schemes which might require
demolition, the mayor is likely to offer authorisation only where the masses have had a say
and are in agreement. His support will be focussed on those in light with the London special
housing regulations, including assisting the tenants shifting to appropriate homes (Stephens &
Whitehead, 2014).
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
III. High-Quality Homes and Inclusive Neighbourhoods
Despite the development and anticipated development in London, the bottom line is
that it has to remain a great place to work and live in. This implies that flexibility and for the
diverse housing need should be incorporated into the system design. The aim is to reduce the
number of Londoners living in prop conditions.
Well-designed, safe, good quality, and environmentally sustainable homes
There is a need to design ones which are not only safe and secure but also sustainable.
The question of safety in certain buildings has influenced a lot in the construction industry.
For instance; the Grenfell tower tragedy. The mayor insists on strong standards of safety and
design, which will guarantee quality. He is posited to support awesome home building
designs. The councils planning is anticipated to be boosted by a new social enterprise.
Despite submitting affordable housing for the Londoners, the mayor is also aware of
strategies which might be environmentally sustainable and protects the environment.
Meeting London’s diverse housing needs
The mayor aims at creating a city for all the Londoners; This implies that the design
of the city has to entail the Londoners in mind while designing. Accessibility and
demographical outlook in comparison with the existing structures have to be maintained. The
mayor attempt to achieve this by making investments on supported homes and specialists,
including the disabled Londoners. The design of the affordable homes will adopt strict
standards of accessibility.
Involving Londoners in homebuilding
The issue of affordable housing has become increasingly acute, and a majority of the
Londoners have come to support the home building idea. The main aim is to ensure that the
Londoners benefit from the new genuinely affordable homes. In some regions, the Londoners
themselves want to take part in the development; thus, the mayor has set aside some funds
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
towards a community-led housing hub. To effectively prepare the communities for the new
homes, the mayor is set to construct other social facilities such as educational facilities,
transport, leisure, and health facilities. The process is deemed more transparent and open.
Some of the issues, which the mayor will later address, are the empty homes, impacts of
estate regeneration, and overseas buyers (Stephens & Whitehead, 2014).
IV. A Fairer Deal For Private Renters And Leaseholders
It is in the interest of a fair deal for the over two million private renters in London.
The renters are faced with a myriad of challenges amidst the growing economy. Some of the
challenges experienced by the renters include lack of security and stability, poor conditions,
the rising cost of rents and other costs, In addition, the mayor wants a fair deal for the close to
two million lease dealers which is key for the new developments given that most of the new
homes current build in London are leasehold.
Improving the quality of private renting:
Most of the property owners in London often offer a good service to their tenants.
Nonetheless, some of the property owners fail to attain the minimum standards for their
rentals. It is in the interest of the mayor that the councils have better tools for developing the
minimum regulatory standards for the private developers so that anyone building a home
meets these standards, by acquiring a license and other legal documents towards the same. He
is interested in ensuring that he gives maximum support to the councils so that the people
living in London can have a better share of their hard-earned money
A more secure, stable, and affordable private rented sector
Many people experience the high cost of rentals in London. There are three categories
which falls in this cluster, which is those who earn low income which is not enough to take
care of their families, the young people who are likely to have finished colleges and still do
have jobs, and lastly the group which have been faced with social welfares reforms and could
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
no longer be able to pay their rent. In the same note, most of the children are raised in rentals,
and it is in the interest of the mayor to develop regulations which will give protection to the
tenants as well as a balanced one that ensures the landlords are also not infringed. In terms of
the low incomes citizens, the mayor will urge the government to improve the support towards
those earning a low income (Stephens & Whitehead, 2014).
Reforming and improving leasehold
A number of the houses built currently in London are subject to leaseholds. However,
a number of the leaseholders hardly are aware of their rights as a leaser, implying that the
system is very much open to abuse. The mayor is objective in aiming at improving this sector
by improving the quality of support and advice to the leaseholders. He also intends to urge
the government to up their work in terms of the regulations guiding the leaseholders and the
rentals.
V. Tackling Homelessness And Helping Rough Sleepers
Despite the impacts of the housing crisis in London being felt by many individuals,
few only experiences it more than the millions of Londoners who are vagabonds. Despite
being among the wealthiest cities so far, London is characterised by housing challenges,
implying that the level of homelessness is on the rise. A recent estimation showed that 0.02%
of the Londoners are homeless. This ratio also includes the single people in hostels, those
residing in temporary accommodation, and close to 8000 people who were spending on the
streets in the previous year. It is thus the moral duty of every person to step up and take the
mantle as a cohesive social responsibility (Warwick, 2015).
Preventing homelessness and helping homeless Londoners to house
Majority of the Londoners’ lack of places to call homes, which is greatly attributed by
lack of affordable homes, changes in the social welfare system and insecurities in the private
housing. The mayor intends to promote sustainable accommodation by working closely with
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
the councils to prevent the issue of homelessness. This is only possible by linking up with the
council to give accommodation to the homeless as well as investing in the areas where most
of the homeless Londoners live. The homeless, which comes as a result of violence against
children’s and women are among his priorities.
Helping rough sleepers off the streets
It is no doubt that there is still a huge number of Londoners residing in the street. The
mayor seeks to collaborate with other charitable organisations, the no nights sleeping rough
taskforce, the government, the councils, and any other interested party in ensuring that no
person sleeps in the streets. The investment towards this course will be on expanding the
refugee's camps as well as the hostels.
Achieving the Vision
The mayor’s plan to achieve the dream of solving one of the challenges faced by
Londoners is a realisable dream and the London housing strategy sites out to embark on it.
The funding’s, as well as the existing powers, is enough to get the process going. The
luminous proposals by the city hall show how enthusiastic and ambitions they are towards
addressing the issue, and that mayor cannot bring the solution on his own. Some of the
categories of people who are likely to offer support to the mayor in meeting the challenges
include
 Councils – this group stands in the central role towards addressing the issue of the
housing crisis and will be very vital in the enactment of the mayor's plan. Some of the
functions which are anticipated from the councils by the mayor include promoting
developments across their areas, planning as well as authorisation of new housing
schemes, also ensuring that the Londoners who are directly affected by the housing
crisis gets the necessary help. The expectation from the council is stipulated in the
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
plan, and it is in their interest towards ensuring that it becomes reality (Stephens &
Whitehead, 2014).
 The housing association – currently, the providers for the new homes as well as those
based on social rent levels are provided by the housing associations. In regards to that,
they hold a significant role in making the mayor’s plan a reality. These groups will
receive support, including a larger portion of the £4.82 billion set aside for the
development of affordable homes. This will be mainly through the creation of great
partnerships with the said association. The charitable organisations are also expected
to play a significant role in supporting the Londoners that find themselves at the end
of the housing crisis.
 Private developers- the private developers will continue the construction of new
affordable homes for the Londoners. They will play a major role in the mayor's plan
by making good use of the available land and investing in the new sites. The mayor
expects that this group builds more homes and gets a fair deal of affordable homes.
 The UK government- the government plays a key role in ensuring that this dream
becomes a reality. The United Kingdom government remains a key centralised
stream towards the activities. This simply implies that the development of the new
affordable homes cannot be possible without receiving adequate funding by the
government of the day. Further, solving the housing crisis and addressing the life of
the people living in the streets can also not be solved without looking at the root
causes, which perhaps is sponsored by the government. Hence, the UK government is
expected to contribute on a significant ground towards the plan of London.
There are five new areas which the government needs to act. These areas include
Securing land for new homes
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
The planning system is mandated with finding the lands for the construction of the
new homes. However, it is not absolute that any zone realised by the planning committee be
brought forward for construction. Further, a great deal of land is poorly utilised, which needs
the authority to address the same. This will thus call for radical rules in the land assemblies as
proposed by the mayor. Some of the reforms include; introduction of new land assemblies
resources and mechanism, compulsory purchase of powers, and stronger powers to the city
hall over the public land designated for the construction of the new homes, specifically those
owned by the government.
Funding affordable homes and infrastructure:
The government of London does not have enough resources in terms of funding’s to
develop a full reality of its plans as it also entails investing heavily on the infrastructure.
Periodic funding by the government for the various schemes can be a great deal towards
addressing the issue. The mayor urges the government via long-term affordable housing and
infrastructure settlement. Supporting the needs of the Londoners would call for a lot of
support from the government (Standard, 2015).
Transforming homebuilding and empowering the municipal government to deliver
Currently, the homebuilding in London lies in the hands of private developers who
generally construct expensive homes for sale. This kind of housing model will not offer a
solution to the housing challenges experienced by the Londoners. It, therefore, implies that
there is a need for both new builders and housing models to address the issue. The
government needs to intervene concededly by contributing to the resources, which are
required. There is a need for the devolution skills funding as well as the devolution of
planning powers to the municipal homebuilding program (Stephens & Whiteband, 2014).
Reforming the private rented and leasehold sectors:
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
One of the most regulated private sectors in Europe is England’s private rented sector.
It is in the interest of the mayor to have a major overhaul of the conditions and regulations,
which guide the private rented sector. The mayor aims at the government involvement in
putting up new housing models, which guides the private renting space to offer the tenants
with more degrees of stability. Also, he seeks to challenge the government to commit to more
progressive housing tenure and on a long-term shift towards alternative programs on the
housing crisis (Hilber, 2017).
VI. Tackling homelessness and its root causes
Solving the structural causes of the homeless are just far much beyond the powers of
the local government. The mayor is calling for more funding by the government as well as a
review on the measures of welfare reforms as it is a major contributor to the aspect of
homelessness in London. His aim is that recognition is made in terms of reforming the private
sector and the creation of kore affordable homes, which is a direct cause of homelessness. In
conclusion, his aim is that the government provide full support to his plans for addressing the
housing crisis in London, which has been one of the crisis since the twenty-first century
(Hilber, 2019).
Section summary
One of the biggest challenges facing London today is how it is going to provide
affordable housing to its residents. The people who precisely are aware of this is the
Londoners’, and in recent times, they recorded the highest level. 33% of the Londoners
acknowledges that one of the significant challenges facing the UK is the issue of affordable
housing. The change of affordable housing has been primarily caused by the failure of the
relevant authorities in; London to construct new affordable homes for the overgrowing
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
population to meet the economic needs. Currently, every life of a Londoner is influenced by
the challenge of affordable housing in one way or the other.
The mayor, Sadiq Khan, sets out with a brilliant vision and strategies after wider
consultation to bring a solution to the one of the everlasting menace. He relies on policies and
various proposals to achieve this. The plan goes to 2022, where a framework will be guiding
factor thorough the whole process, which is approximated to cost £4.8 billion of affordable
housing investment. By extension, the mayor, together with his counterparts extends other
services and programs to help realise the dream. He is also beseeching other organisations to
help in joining hands so that together, the dream of cleansing the ones affordable housing in
London is rekindled again.
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
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Conclusion
London is one of the major cities in the world, which is the desire for most people to
live in. However, it is undoubted that currently finding a house in London to live in is one of
the major challenges. The city is faced with challenges of Affordability, making it difficult
and expensive to live more so on the urban centres. Majority of the people who either are
employed as part-time workers or on full-time basis prefers to stay in the outskirts of the
town, and whereby they would still rent the homes. The number of individuals who are
homeowners is minimal.
This dissertation has given a clear view of the issue of the affordability crisis in
London as well as the plans, which are underway to bring a solution to the matter thereof.
The current mayor of the town is determined to reverse the culture and has come up with a
very strategic plan, which is posited to take a journey by the year 2022. It is in the interest of
the leader to ensure that most of the people living in the streets at least find somewhere to
reside in.
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London's economic housing policies and its impact on the shortage of affordable housing
in London
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List of Figures
Figure 1: new affordable housings and completions
Figure 2: average London house prices compared to England
Figure 3: top five increases in the average residential property prices in London
Figure 4: top five decreases in residential property across London
Figure 6: affordability of housing for first term buyers
Figure 7: The cost of renting a residential property in London
Figure 8: FTB house prices to earnings
38