Accelerating Housing Delivery: GLA Planning and Housing Practice Note (December 2024)

The “Accelerating Housing Delivery” practice note outlines strategies to address London’s urgent housing needs, emphasising affordable housing, social rent, and intermediate housing for key workers and middle-income earners. It is a material consideration in determining planning applications and aligns with the London Plan and the Mayor’s Housing Strategy.

Key Highlights:

1. Policy Context:

   • Addresses the acute housing crisis, with 183,000 Londoners in temporary accommodation and a need for 43,500 affordable homes annually.

   • Supports the Mayor’s manifesto goals, including delivering council homes and Rent-Controlled Key Worker Living Rent Homes.

     
     

2. Affordable Housing Focus:

   • Threshold Approach: Fast Track Route (FTR) for developments meeting affordable housing thresholds to speed up approvals.

   • Measures to increase social rent delivery, including flexibility in viability reviews and funding to convert market housing into social rent or intermediate rent homes.

     
     

3. Incentives and Financial Measures:

   • Introduces financial tools such as the Accelerated Funding Route (AFR) to encourage affordable housing delivery.

   • Additional £100 million funding for London, retention of Right to Buy receipts, and enhanced grants for councils and Registered Providers (RPs).

     
     

4. Intermediate Housing Options:

   • Promotes intermediate rent housing, including Key Worker Living Rent Homes, to cater to middle-income households and key workers.

   • Flexible grant funding to encourage delivery and conversions of less viable tenures like shared ownership into rent-based affordable homes.

     
     

5. Market Challenges:

   • Recognises obstacles like high interest rates, inflation, and constraints on social landlords.

   • Advocates for institutional investment and measures to boost housing supply while stabilising costs.

     
     

6. Design and Sustainability:

   • Supports high-quality housing through the Housing Design Standards, balancing capacity optimisation with sustainable development.

     
     

7. Innovative Approaches:

   • Encourages meanwhile housing (temporary homes on development sites), faster build-out rates, and early delivery incentives.

   • Proposes flexibility in review mechanisms to adapt to market conditions.

     
     

Impact:

The document’s measures aim to:

• Expedite housing delivery.

• Address long-term housing shortages.

• Diversify housing options for various income groups.

• Support councils, RP's, and developers in achieving housing goals.

It serves as a strategic framework to tackle London’s housing crisis by emphasising collaboration, policy alignment, and financial innovation.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London