576,000 London homes may be overcrowded says new report

A new report released today by City Hall Tories says there may be 576,000 overcrowded homes in London, nearly twice as many as official figures estimate.

Exclusive polling for the report, Crowded Out: London’s Overcrowded Homes, found that 16 per cent of Londoners consider their home to be overcrowded. That means 576,000 homes in London could be overcrowded, almost double the official estimate of 298,800 overcrowded homes (8.3 per cent).

Worryingly, the report found that the number of family-sized homes funded by the Mayor’s housebuilding programme fell by 30 per cent in three years. Sadiq Khan only started building 2,005 affordable homes with three or more bedrooms in 2019/20, down from 2,892 in 2017/18.

The opinion poll also revealed that an astonishing 75 per cent of Londoners do not think there are enough affordable family-sized homes in the capital. Only 10 per cent of Londoners thought there were enough larger affordable homes in London.

The report’s author, London Assembly Member Tony Devenish, called for the Mayor to use the £535 million unspent grant in his current affordable housing programme to build the family-sized homes London desperately needs. He also recommended the Mayor set minimum investment targets for these homes and publish breakdowns on the size of all GLA funded homes.

Tony Devenish AM, commented: “London’s overcrowding problem is much bigger than Sadiq Khan thinks – and his failed housing policies risk making it even worse.

“According to Londoners, there could be as many as 576,000 overcrowded homes across our city. That’s twice the number City Hall estimates. For children growing up in these homes, overcrowding can severely impact their life chances while parents face huge struggles, particularly with their mental health.

“The Mayor is sitting on £535 million of unallocated housebuilding cash. He needs to use it now to start building the larger affordable homes Londoners desperately need so we can tackle overcrowding in our city.

“Shamefully, the number of family-sized homes started by City Hall has fallen by nearly a third under Sadiq Khan. Unless the Mayor takes family-sized housebuilding seriously, his policies will trap thousands of families in overcrowded conditions.

“We have a housing crisis in London which won’t be tackled by building only one-bedroom flats Mr Khan.”