The Mayor of London looks set to fall well short of affordable housing targets set by the government, new data shows.
Last year the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) agreed to lower London’s target for the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) for 2021-2026 by over a fifth to between 17,800 and 19,000 starts by March.
But Sir Sadiq Khan still looks set to fall short of the adjusted target, according to new figures released by City Hall. Just 7,878 homes were started under the 2021-2026 AHP between July 2023 – when it was signed off – and December 2025.
This includes 5,188 from July 2023 to March 2025, and a further 2,690 since.
It means that, unless there are 9,922 starts on affordable homes between January and March this year, Sir Sadiq will fall short of the government’s target.
A City Hall source noted that housing starts in the 2021-26 AHP more than doubled compared to the same period last year, from 1,249 to 2,690.
They also said council housing starts increased by nearly five times from 228 to 1,371 in the same period.
The mayor has come under heavy criticism in the past for his record on housebuilding.
Both Sir Sadiq and his Deputy Mayor for Housing, Tom Copley, have blamed high interest rates, soaring construction costs and delays caused by the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) for the low figures.
They have taken steps in recent months to rectify the issue, including slashing affordability quotas and launching a multi-billion pound fund which will offer 0.1 per cent interest loans to developers.
However, his record on delivering affordable homes was today branded a “failure” by the City Hall Conservatives housing spokesman Lord Bailey, who called on ministers to intervene in the capital.
“London’s latest affordable housing figures lay bare the scale of failure at City Hall”, he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
“Under Sadiq Khan, just 1,898 homes have been completed from the £4 billion 2021–26 Affordable Homes Programme in a city of nearly 10 million people. Fewer than 8,000 homes have even been started, against an original target of 35,000, and still far short of the already reduced expectations for March.
“This is not just a statistical embarrassment, it is a human crisis. Families are stuck in overcrowded homes, councils are buckling under soaring temporary accommodation costs, rents continue to climb, and young Londoners are locked out of home ownership. The mayor was warned that his approach would choke off delivery and that is exactly what has happened.
“London needs leadership focused on results, not rhetoric. Without urgent intervention, the capital will continue to fall further behind the housing Londoners desperately need.
“It is time for the government to put party loyalties aside, recognise the scale of this collapse, and act in the interests of the people of London”.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told the LDRS: “Tackling the housing crisis is a top priority for the mayor and he is doing everything he can to deliver more homes of all tenures. Housing starts have significantly increased compared to this time last year, alongside council housing starts.
“The mayor has prioritised delivering homes for social rent during challenging economic conditions – which, in 2025, resulted in the highest number of council homes completed by London boroughs through GLA funded programmes since 2016-17. Overall, since 2018, more than 25,000 council homes have been built, or are being built, with the help of City Hall funding.
“These achievements come despite tough economic conditions, with housing delivery of all forms facing a perfect storm due to a combination of the disastrous legacy of the previous government, high interest rates, the rising cost of construction materials, the impact of the pandemic and Brexit and Building Safety Regulator delays.
“All of this has had a lasting impact on housing delivery, but the Mayor continues to work with the government, boroughs and partners to do everything possible to deliver the affordable homes Londoners desperately need as he builds a better, fairer London for everyone”.
