Committee publication · Correspondence · 6 November 2025
Letter from the Chair to the Secretary of State dated 6 November 2025 concerning support for housebuilding in London
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Inquiry: Affordability of Home Ownership
Summary
Chair Florence Eshalomi writes to Secretary of State Steve Reed seeking clarification on the government's 23 October 2025 'Homes for London' package, which introduces a time-limited 20% affordable housing planning route and a gain-share clawback mechanism. The Committee welcomes measures to boost housing supply but requests detailed modelling, impact assessments, and safeguards to ensure the package delivers net increases in affordable homes rather than reducing delivery.
Key findings
- The announced package reduces London's affordable housing target from 35% to 20% via a time-limited planning route until 31 March 2028; the Committee asks for modelling demonstrating this increases overall social and affordable housing delivery.
- A gain-share mechanism allows further viability reviews to recover developer returns for community benefit, but exemptions apply where first floors are completed by 31 March 2030, potentially limiting effectiveness until the 2030s.
- The Committee is concerned developers may prioritise building only first floors to qualify for exemption from viability reviews, rather than completing homes, and questions whether exemptions should require completion of a minimum number of affordable units.
- Changes to Local Plan Guidance relax requirements for dual aspect windows, increase homes per core, and reduce cycle storage mandates; the Committee requests assessment of impacts on building safety.
- The Committee requests monthly written updates on implementation and effect of the measures, beginning when the first consultation launches in November 2025.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Florence Eshalomi MP, Steve Reed OBE MP, Sadiq Khan, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Greater London Authority, Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Notable line
“… it is crucial that a significant proportion of those new homes are affordable to local people and provide high-quality, safe communities where people want to live.”
Key Quotes
“As a Committee, we recognise that the 1.5 million national housebuilding target cannot be met without a significant increase in housing supply in London.”
“In effect, this reduces London's affordable housing target from 35% to 20%.”
“… we are concerned that these exemptions could significantly reduce the effectiveness of the clawback mechanism, and that it is unlikely that any returns would be recovered from developers until well into the 2030s.”
“What consideration the Ministry has given to the possibility that some developers may seek to prioritise building the first floor of their London sites only, rather than completing homes, in order to qualify for exemption from further viability reviews.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗