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February 2010

The London Housing Strategy


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The London Housing Strategy

February 2010


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Greater London Authority

February 2010

Published by

Greater London Authority

City Hall

The Queens Walk

More London

London SE1 2AA

www.london.gov.uk

enquiries 020 7983 4100

minicom 020 7983 4458

ISBN 978 1 84781 330 5

Photographs: Pages 4, 42 and 84

Belinda Lawley. Cover and pages 12

and 68 Shutterstock. Page 31

Eleanor Ward.

Copies of this report are available

from www.london.gov.uk

Printed on Evolution Satin paper:

75 per cent recycled bre content;

25 per cent virgin bre, 10 per cent

FSC sourced; FSC and NAPM certied.


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Contents

Foreword 5

About this document 7

1 Raising aspirations, promoting opportunity 11

1.1 Providing more homes 131.2 Helping homeowners and rst time buyers 19

1.3 Improving the social rented sector 26

1.4 Improving the private rented sector 36

2 Improving homes, transforming neighbourhoods 41

2.1 Designing better homes 43

2.2 Producing greener homes 49

2.3 Revitalising homes and communities 59

3 Maximising delivery, optimising value for money 67

3.1 Delivering across London 693.2 Delivering locally 76

Appendices 83

1 Londons public housing investment 85

2 HCA affordable housing completions prole, 2008-12 91

3 Borough affordable housing delivery targets, 2008-11 92

References 93


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This is Londons rst ever statutory housing

strategy. I am proud to be the rst London

Mayor to have produced such a document

for the capital, and am even more proud that

my housing policies are already having such a

positive impact on this great city and those who

live here.

The last two years have been exceptionally

challenging for Londons housing market. Sales

have slumped, prices have fallen and condence

has plummeted. For developers and homebuyers

alike, access to nance has been incredibly

limited, squeezing both supply and demand.

Yet, despite the most serious downturn for fty

years, under my mayoralty London is not only

delivering tens of thousands more affordable

homes but has also had some remarkable

successes in tackling some of its most enduring

and deep-seated housing problems.

On housing delivery, I am well on track to

meet my target of 50,000 affordable homes

before the Olympics more homes than in any

single Mayoral term. I have also ensured that

regeneration has continued to happen, despite

the tough economic challenges faced by these

major schemes. Without my strong partnership

with the boroughs, my chairmanship of the

Homes and Communities Agency London

Board and a new and more exible approach

to housing investment, this could not have

happened. Over the coming months and years,

I will build on these strong foundations so that

we continue to generate the levels of affordablehousing that London so badly needs, and so

richly deserves. In particular, I will seek to give

boroughs more inuence over housing delivery

at a local level, through delegated delivery

contracts.

But achieving overall housing numbers is not

enough. Equally important is ensuring that these

homes are t to meet the range of Londoners

needs and aspirations - for larger homes, for

supported homes, and for both social rented and

intermediate homes. I am particularly committed

to helping Londons hard-pressed families, who

have suffered so badly from Londons housing

shortages and affordability problems. That is

why I am so pleased to report that my target

for 42 per cent of social rented homes to be

family-sized is well on the way to being met. It

is also why I want to improve families access

to intermediate housing through my First Steps

programme, by increasing the supply of larger

homes and making more families eligible.

The quantity of new homes must not be at

the expense of quality. It is essential that the

homes we build today are t for 21st centuryliving. Together, my Housing Design Guide and

new London Plan will transform the design of

Londons housing, making hobbit homes a thing

Foreword


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6 The London Housing Strategy

of the past and creating a bricks and mortar

legacy of which we can be proud.

Tackling homelessness and reducing

overcrowding are two of my key priorities, with

targets to end rough sleeping by 2012 and to

halve severe overcrowding among social tenants

by 2016. My London Delivery Board is already

making extraordinary progress. The number

of the most entrenched rough sleepers in the

capital has been cut by two thirds in only nine

months and a plan of action is in place for a

sustainable solution to what is one of the citys

most intractable problems.

I have consulted extensively on this strategy

and worked closely with partners to achieve

these notable successes. I am condent that

stakeholders throughout the capital share the

vision and ambitions it sets out in this strategy.

I know that even in the face of an unrelenting

recession and a potentially uncertain future for

housing investment - by working together we

will continue to full these ambitions to ensure

that London becomes a city where the homes

and communities we live in bring us together

and become a platform for success.

Boris Johnson

Mayor of London


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What is the London Housing Strategy?The GLA Act 2007 gave the Mayor new powers

and responsibilities in regard to housing,

including

that the Mayor must prepare and publish a

statutory London Housing Strategy

that this strategy should set out the Mayors

assessment of housing conditions and the

need for further housing provision, his

policies to meet needs and improve housing

conditions and measures that other bodies are

to be encouraged to take to achieve the aims

of the strategy

that the Mayor must make recommendations

on the amount of funding from the Regional

Housing Pot in London made available to the

Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and

how much should be allocated to London

boroughs (see Appendix 1)

that the Mayor must make recommendations

on the broad distribution of the HCA

programme in London and on how London

boroughs should use the Regional Housing

Pot funding allocated to them.

This document, Londons rst statutory housing

strategy, sets out the Mayors vision for housing

in the capital. This vision, and the policies that

underpin it, form the framework for determining

the priorities for Londons public housing

investment over 5 billion in the current

spending round. But this document is not simply

a housing investment strategy; it goes further,

including policies on a number of key housingissues where a pan-London approach is essential

to improving the lives of Londoners and the city

in which they live.

The Mayors vision and policies have been

informed by an in-depth assessment of housing

needs and conditions in the capital. This is

summarised in Housing in London 2009 the

evidence base for the strategy1.

ConsultationExtensive consultation was undertaken

throughout the development process, to help

shape the strategy. This included:

statutory consultation with the London

Assembly and functional bodies between

November 2008 and January 2009

statutory consultation with the public

between May and August 2009, during which

over 140 written responses were received

a major consultation conference in July 2009,

attended by over 250 people

engagement by GLA ofcers and the Mayors

Ofce with key stakeholders at well over 200

meetings and events, as well as through the

Mayors Housing Forum, the Mayors Housing

Equalities Standing Group and through round

table events convened by the GLA on specic

policy issues.

A report has been published alongside

this strategy, containing an analysis of the

consultation that took place and the issues

raised.

Integrated impact assessmentThe development of this strategy has been

subject to a full Integrated Impact Assessment(IIA). The IIA approach addresses all of the

Mayors legal duties to carry out comprehensive

assessments of the strategy and its policies

About this document


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within one integrated process. It covers the

legal requirements to undertake a Sustainability

Appraisal (including a Strategic Environmental

Assessment) and also considers health, equalities

and community safety.

The IIA has inuenced the preparation of the

strategy, ensuring that the range of issues

outlined above have been taken into account

at each stage of the development process. Four

documents relating to the IIA are available on

the GLA website: the reports of the IIA and the

equalities impact assessment undertaken on the

public consultation draft; the report of the IIA

undertaken on the statutory draft; and the IIA

post-adoption report.

The relationship between the LondonHousing Strategy and the Mayors otherstrategiesThere is a strong inter-relationship and inter-

dependency between the London Housing

Strategy and the Mayors other strategies. Most

important is the London Plan Londons spatial

development strategy. The replacement London

Plan is due to be formally published in 2011,

and a draft of this document was published for

public consultation in the autumn of 2009. The

draft will be subject to an examination in public

(EiP) in the summer of 2010. Then, following

any revisions, it will be submitted to the

Secretary of State before it is formally published.

Although the current London Plan will be in

force until the nal version of the replacementis published, it is the draft replacement London

Plan that has been referenced throughout this

strategy. This is because its policies represent

the Mayors current thinking. They will also

be treated as material considerations that can

be taken into account in deciding planning

applications, gathering weight the further into

the replacement process they go. However, as

outlined above, because the draft replacement

London Plan has yet to go through the EiP

process, any of its proposed policies referred to

in this document may be subject to change.

The Mayors draft Transport Strategy and draft

Economic Development Strategy, published

alongside the draft replacement London Plan,

also relate strongly to elements of the housing

strategy (and vice versa), as do the Mayors

social and environmental strategies.

Delivery partnersThe HCA is the primary agency for the delivery

of this strategy. Through the Housing and

Regeneration Act 2008, it is required to

have regard to the strategy when making its

investment decisions in London. The HCAs

London Board is chaired by the Mayor, and

includes representatives from London Councils,

the LDA and the London Thames Gateway

Development Corporation, alongside the HCAs

chair and chief executive.

Londons boroughs have a particularly key

delivery role and, since he took ofce, the

Mayor has established a close and co-operative

working relationship with them. The GLA Act

2007 species that local housing strategies

must be in general conformity with the Londonstrategy. Guidance to inform boroughs about the

requirements, scope and implications of general

conformity, and the process that the Mayor is


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9

adopting to ensure that boroughs strategic aims

and policies are in line with his own, has been

published with this strategy.

As well as the HCA, boroughs and other

organisations represented on the HCA London

Board, there is a range of other statutory,

private and voluntary sector partners without

whom the delivery of this strategy would not be

possible. Their roles are highlighted throughout

this document and in its accompanying delivery

plan (see the section below on implementation,

monitoring and review).

The structure of this documentThis statutory version of the strategy is

signicantly shorter than the two previously

published consultation drafts, with a very

different format. With implementation in mind,

this document focuses more explicitly on the

Mayors priorities, providing more detail about

each of the policies and how they will be

delivered. To ensure ease of use and navigation,

it also contains less contextual information. This

is available in the previous Assembly and public

consultation versions and in Housing in London

2009, the Mayors annually published evidence

base for the strategy referred to above.

There are three substantive sections in this

strategy. The rst sets out Londons housing

needs and deals with the pressing issues in

each housing tenure; the second focuses on

the design and quality of homes; and the nal

section looks at delivery, both locally andacross London. Each of these contains a brief

contextual introduction followed by sub-sections

that comprise: the justications for the policies

that follow; the policies themselves; and an

elaboration of each of the policies.

Implementation, monitoring and reviewA separate delivery plan has been published

alongside this strategy. This sets out the actions

needed to implement each of the policies, and

the timescales and partners involved. It also

species how policies will be monitored. A

London Housing Strategy monitoring report will

be published each year, alongside the London

Plan Annual Monitoring Report. Details of

mechanisms for monitoring the strategy are also

contained in the IIA post-adoption report.

While it is wide-ranging and contains a number

of medium to long term aims and targets,

this strategy focuses primarily on the current

investment period, 2008-11. It is therefore

envisaged that it will need to be reviewed later

this year in the light of the Spending Review,

in order to determine the priorities for the

following investment period.

Equal life chances for allLondon has a proud history of welcoming

people, of promoting equality and of being

inclusive. The city is uniquely cosmopolitan

in character, with a high level of migration

into London from both inside and outside the

United Kingdom. The Mayor is committed to

promoting opportunity, and is determined that

all Londoners should be able to share in their

citys success and that there should be equal life

chances and better outcomes for all who live,work or study in the capital. Housing provision

that meets the varying needs of Londoners is

one key element of this. Low income Londoners


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and some groups are disproportionately affected

by the shortage of good quality affordable

housing. Others may face discrimination or need

protection in the home or a move to alternative

accommodation, such as women eeing violence

or those being harassed on the grounds of race

or sexual orientation. The Mayor is committed to

providing more accessible housing to meet the

needs of those disabled, deaf and older people

living in unsuitable homes that prevent them

from living independent lives.


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1 Raising aspirations,promoting opportunity

1.1 Providing more homesTo promote opportunity and a real choice of homes for all Londoners, in a range oftenures that meets their needs at a price they can afford.

1.2 Helping homeowners and first time buyers

To deliver the First Steps housing programme that will enable many more Londoners tobecome homeowners, and to develop initiatives to help existing homeowners at risk ofrepossession and homelessness.

1.3 Improving the social rented sectorTo provide many more affordable rented homes and ensure that social renting providesan opportunity to foster aspirations and gives support to those who need it.

1.4 Improving the private rented sectorTo promote a vibrant and attractive private rented sector to support Londonseconomic vitality.


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VisionTo promote opportunity and a real choice

of homes for all Londoners, in a range of

tenures that meets their needs at a price

they can afford.

London is one of the great global cities and a

dynamo of the national economy. However, the

citys economic success has so far come at a cost

for many of those seeking a home here, resulting

in problems of affordability, homelessness and

overcrowding.

Since 2008, convulsions in the global economy

have had a powerful impact on Londons housing

market. As yet it is too early to say whether

these changes have run their course, or exactly

what shape the recovery might take. After falling

15 per cent from their peak, average house

prices in London showed signs of stabilising or

even rising in summer 2009, but with the level

of sales still less than half that of two years ago

any recovery in prices must for now be considered

tentative2 3 4. The drop in prices has not changed

Londons position as the most expensive and least

affordable part of the country. Average house

prices are 51 per cent higher and private rents

64 per cent higher in London than in England as

a whole5. First time buyers in London are paying

an average deposit of 28 per cent of the purchase

price of the home, up from an average of ten to

12 per cent in recent years and more than their

average annual income6 7. The ratio of lower

quartile earnings to lower quartile house prices,

the governments standard measure of housing

affordability, is 9.3 in London compared to seven

in England as a whole8.

Londons population is expected to rise from

7.6 million in 2008 to around 8.9 million

in 20319. This growth is primarily driven by

natural increase (ie the excess of births over

deaths), with migration indirectly contributing

by lowering the average age of Londoners and

thereby increasing the overall fertility rate10. The

number of households will grow faster than the

overall population as the average household size

is falling, due mainly to later marriage, fewer

children, more divorce and longer lives. Of the

750,000 to 850,000 additional households that

London will have by 2031, almost three quarters

will be single person households11.

Housing supply has not kept pace with either

demographic or economic trends. New housing

supply in London averaged 19,000 homes a year

throughout the 1990s but has risen in recent

years, with total net housing provision of 28,199

homes in 2007/0812. The failure of housing

supply to match demand has led to increased

overcrowding and homelessness in the capital.

Around 207,000 of Londons households are

overcrowded, up around a third on the number

ten years ago, with overcrowding affecting

one in eight social renting households and

one in ten in the private rented sector13. The

number of homeless households in temporary

accommodation in London has fallen in the last

New housing supply in London averaged 19,000 homes a year throughout the 1990s but hasrisen in recent years, with total net housing provision of28,199 homes in 2007/08

13

1.1 Providing more homes


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few years but remains high at 43,500, just over

three quarters of the national total14.

1.1.1 Providing more homesIt is clear that London desperately needs more

homes. Despite the recent falls in house prices,

home ownership is still out of reach of most of

those on low and middle incomes, and many

Londoners are in acute housing need.

Taking existing and future housing market

conditions into account, the GLAs 2008 London

Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA)

concluded that at least 32,600 new homes,

including 18,200 affordable homes, are needed

every year over the term of the London Plan15.

For the rst time in many years, there is

enough housing capacity in the capital for the

new homes that London needs. Based on an

assessment of housing land capacity carried out

by the GLA and the boroughs, the Mayors draft

replacement London Plan (referred to hereafter

as the draft London Plan) proposes a planning

target for an annual housing provision of at least

33,380 market and affordable homes each year.

The capacity is there the challenge will be

delivering it.

Affordable housing targets

The Mayor sets two types of affordable

housing target, one set out in the London

Plan and the other in the London Housing

Strategy. There are important differences in

how each is dened and determined.

The draft London Plan proposes a long term

Londonwide target of 13,200 new affordable

homes each year. This is measured in terms of

net conventional supply: that is, supply from

new developments or conversions, adjusted to

take account of demolitions and other losses.

The London Housing Strategysets out a

Londonwide target for delivery of 50,000

affordable homes in the four years 2008/09 to

2011/12. This includes conventional supply but

also counts acquisitions of homes for affordable

housing, for example assisted purchase by

those on intermediate incomes or acquisitions

of homes on the market by housing

associations for letting out at social rents.

The draft London Plan proposed targets

are determined by assessing need, housing

capacity and viability. The London Housing

Strategytargets are determined by the

availability of public sector investment and

how this can best deliver the London Plan

targets and the wider aims set out in the

London Housing Strategy.

Londons population is expected to rise from 7.6 million in 2008 to between 8.8 and9.1 million in 2031


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Policy 1.1A | The 50 per cent affordablehousing target will be abolished.

The Mayors draft London Plan will abolish

the previous Mayors 50 per cent affordable

housing planning target. Instead, it adopts a

new regional planning target for an average

net supply of at least 13,200 new affordable

homes each year in London, taking into

account economic viability and the likely

availability of public sector investment.

Borough-level targets should take account of

this regional planning target and evidence of

housing requirements at local, sub-regional

and regional levels.

Policy 1.1B |The current investmentprogramme will deliver 50,000 affordablehomes in London over the four years2008 to 2012.

The housing market downturn has inevitably

affected affordable housing delivery across

London. However, despite extraordinarily

difcult market conditions and the worst

housing crash for a generation, the Mayor

is committed to delivering at least 50,000

affordable homes, even with no new

resources, by 2012 (see Appendix 2). The

Mayor has negotiated affordable housing

delivery targets with each of the London

boroughs (these targets are set out in

Appendix 3). These are set to deliver over

40,000 homes over the three years 2008

to 2011, and a further 10,000 affordablehomes will be delivered across the boroughs

in 2011/12. He will work with the HCA and

the boroughs to deliver these homes and to

identify new avenues for increasing affordable

housing delivery (see Section 3.1 on housing

delivery). From 2011 on, local affordable

housing targets will primarily be set through

London boroughs planning policies as set

out in their local development frameworks,

although additional targets may be agreed

where a delegated delivery agreement is in

place (see Section 3.1.1).

In 2008/09, there were 12,890 affordable

homes delivered in London.

Most affordable housing delivery in London

is funded by the HCA but a proportion is

funded through other sources, such as homes

built without grant as part of Section 106

agreements.

1.1.2 Providing a better mix of homesJust 17 per cent of new homes built by housing

associations in London (both social rented and

intermediate homes) had three bedrooms or

more in 2007/08, down from 39 per cent in

1997/9816. This failure to provide enough larger

homes over recent years has resulted in the large

increases in overcrowding referred to above17.

The lack of larger homes is also likely to have

resulted in more families leaving London to nd

a suitable home at a price they can afford.

According to the SHMA, around 40 per cent of

the requirement for new social housing is forhomes with four bedrooms or more, reecting

both high levels of overcrowding and the small

numbers of new family homes being built18.


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While there is obviously a signicant demand

for family-sized market homes in the capital,

the SHMA found little net requirement for

this type of housing across London, although

there are bound to be local variations. This

low net requirement for family-sized homes in

the market arises mainly because so much of

Londons future household growth will consist

of single person households, and because so

many of Londons existing owner occupied and

privately rented homes are family-sized.

Policy 1.1C |More family-sized homes,particularly affordable homes, will beprovided, with 42 per cent of social rentedand, by 2011, 16 per cent of intermediatehomes having three bedrooms or more.

While the target for larger social rented homes

has applied since 2008, the increase in the

proportion of family-sized intermediate homes

is being phased in as follows: eight per cent in

2008/9, 12 per cent the following year and

16 per cent by 2010/11.

The Mayor will work with the HCA and with

boroughs to deliver these targets. The exact

proportions will vary across London, and

boroughs should research the need for family-

sized homes in their area. The Mayor will

aim to exceed these targets in future years.

Boroughs should also have regard to the draft

London Plans proposed policies on design

and housing choice (see Section 2.1).

Progress is already being made, with

37 per cent of social rented and seven per cent

of new build intermediate homes funded

during 2008/9 and the rst three quarters of

2009/10 having at least three bedrooms19.

The overall size mix of new housing provision

is monitored in the London Plan Annual

Monitoring Reports, and the HCA monitors

not only the number of bedrooms but also

the number of persons housed for the new

affordable homes that it funds.

1.1.3 Creating mixed communitiesMixed tenure developments are essential if we

are to provide the homes that London needs

while creating mixed and balanced communities.

Concentrations of poverty can compound the

problems of deprivation and worklessness, as

demonstrated by the experience of some of the

large-scale mono-tenure social housing estates

built in London during the post-war decades.

The recent trend for a greater proportion of

new housing schemes to include a broad mix

of affordable housing is to be welcomed, but

large swathes of London remain dominated

by one tenure, usually market housing. The

concentration of social housing in a small

number of London neighbourhoods is more than

outweighed by the number of areas in which

social housing is almost non-existent.

In 2001, 56 per cent of wards in London were

more than three quarters market housing (owner

occupied and private rented), while 0.5 per cent

of wards were more than three quarters socialhousing20. In total, half of Londons social

housing was concentrated in a quarter of its

wards. Despite more mixed tenure developments


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17

being built in recent years, these patterns have

not greatly changed because most development

takes place in areas with sizeable amounts of

existing social housing. Between 2004/05 and

2006/07, a quarter of new affordable housing in

London was located in the ten per cent of wards

with the most social housing21.

Policy 1.1D |New housing developmentswill contain an appropriate mix of market,intermediate and social rented homes.

The Mayors draft London Plan proposes

that 60 per cent of new affordable housing

should comprise social rented homes and

40 per cent should be intermediate homes,

including shared ownership, shared equity

and intermediate rent. The Mayor will seek

to apply this benchmark to major housing

schemes using his planning decision powers,

although the proportions in each case will

depend on a range of factors, including local

context and site viability.

In addition, the HCA will give additional priority

for funding to schemes that create an improved

tenure mix in areas currently dominated by one

tenure. Boroughs should adopt a local policy

on affordable housing mix, taking into account

the regional planning target and evidence of

local and sub-regional needs.

Policy 1.1E |Greater social mix will bepromoted in neighbourhoods dominatedby a single tenure.

The Mayor will encourage mixed tenure

developments across London, in line with

the proposed policies in the draft London

Plan and local planning policies, and

supports estate regeneration schemes that

diversify tenure mix on estates with high

concentrations of social housing. The HCA

will give priority to new affordable housing

schemes that diversify the tenure mix of

areas currently dominated by market housing.

Boroughs are also encouraged to devise

innovative and locally appropriate solutions

to improve the tenure and income mix of

their communities.

Halfof Londons social housing is concentrated in a quarter of its wards


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By combining its own land with grant funding

from the Mayors Targeted Funding Stream and

prudential borrowing, Croydon has developed

its rst family-sized homes built by the council

for 20 years.

In the rst phase, all 32 of the three, four

and ve bedroom homes are for families who

previously lived in overcrowded conditions.

Three developments have been completed

so far. In Sumner Gardens, 13 homes have

been built on council land previously used for

prefabricated temporary homes. The site now

provides high quality, energy efcient familyhousing that meets the Eco-Homes Excellent,

Lifetime Homes and Secured by Design

standards. The other completed schemes, in

New Addington, have provided a further

14 family-sized homes.

The council is about to embark on thedelivery of its second phase new build

housing programme, which will comprise

64 two, three and four bedroom homes,

including four bungalows aimed at

underoccupiers downsizing from larger

homes. Eight of the 64 homes are wheelchair

accessible. This phase will also achieve

exemplary environmental standards, with

41 homes built to Code for Sustainable

Homes level 4 and the remaining 23 at level5. Croydon has a further 100 homes in the

pipeline.

Case study |Croydon new build programme, London Borough of Croydon


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VisionTo deliver the First Steps housing

programme that will enable many more

Londoners to become homeowners, and

to develop initiatives to help existing

homeowners at risk of repossession and

homelessness.

Home ownership is an aspiration shared by

most Londoners, but is out of reach for too

many. Despite the impact of the credit crunch

on house prices, Londons affordability crisis

remains the most severe of any part of the

country. To access home ownership in the

capital requires not only far higher than average

incomes but also very large deposits. Last year in

London, rst time buyers who purchased a home

paid an average deposit of almost 90,00022.

Across the country the number of rst time

buyers relying on help from family with their

deposit has risen to around four in ve, and

this is likely to be higher in London23. Around

45 per cent of Londoners see high housing costs

as one of the most signicant downsides of life

in the capital24.

Despite the difcult market conditions, home

ownership remains the tenure of choice for the

majority of Londoners. In a recent survey for the

GLA, four out of ve middle income Londoners

currently renting or living with parents said they

would like to own their own home25. At the same

time, intermediate rented products and rent-to-

buy have proved popular options for buyers who

are unable to take up low cost home ownership,or uneasy about doing so in an uncertain

market.

To achieve his aim of meeting the needs of

Londons middle market and delivering 20,000

intermediate homes by March 2012, the

Mayor will continue to reform the intermediate

sector though his agship First Steps housing

programme. This has three pillars:

widening eligibility to reect the reality of

high house prices and worse affordability in

the capital, particularly for family homes

developing the product range to address

current gaps in the market

improving access, information and the

experience for buyers.

Furthermore, in response to the recent increase

in mortgage arrears and repossessions, the

Mayor will continue to support programmes to

help struggling homeowners in London. Better

tailoring of programmes to Londons regional

housing market will be important to ensure

that help reaches those who need it most,

particularly families.

1.2.1 Expanding the intermediate offerFor many low and middle income Londoners,

buying a home in the intermediate market is the

solution to the problem of building up housing

equity, and provides a route into home ownership.

Despite recent falls in London house prices, it is

as difcult as ever to get a foot on the ladder in

the capital, as lenders require larger deposits, and

fewer properties come onto the market. Analysis

by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

(RICS) concluded in 2008 that despite fallingprices London has seen the largest deterioration

in housing market accessibility of any region26.

1.2 Helping homeowners and rst time buyers

19


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Expanding the intermediate housing offer is a

vital part of ensuring Londons housing market

does not become polarised between those with

the greatest housing wealth, and those with the

most severe housing need. In particular, there

are compelling arguments for expanding the

intermediate housing programme to do more to

provide options for families who need a larger

home:

To meet the demonstrable need for additional

family-sized intermediate homes. While there

is a signicant demand for intermediate

homes of all sizes, the SHMA found a

pressing need for additional family-sized

intermediate homes for households unable to

afford suitable accommodation in the open

market27. Over half the assessed need for

intermediate housing was for homes with four

or more bedrooms, and another third for three

bedroom homes.

To meet customer demand for affordable

family-sized homes. In Wandsworth, for

example, one in ten of those registered for

intermediate housing want three or more

bedrooms, rising to 20 per cent among black

and minority ethnic households28.

To reduce the ight from the capital of

Londons low and middle income families.

To ensure more mixed and balanced

communities within our new housing

developments.

Only seven per cent of all new build intermediate

homes have three or more bedrooms, despitethis proven need for larger units29. This is mainly

because the production of larger intermediate

homes can be nancially unviable, given that the

eligible income limit has been the same - 60,000

a year - for all intermediate purchasers, regardless

of the size of home they need. Steps therefore

need to be taken to stimulate a greater supply of

family-sized intermediate homes being built.

Policy 1.2A | Of the 50,000 affordablehomes to be delivered between 2008 and2012, 20,000 will be intermediate housing.

Intermediate homes will be delivered primarily

through the HCA investment programme

and through the affordable housing policies

proposed in the draft London Plan (see also

LHS Policy 1.1B and Section 3.1 on housing

delivery).

Within the overall delivery target, provision

of intermediate family-sized homes will

be increased. By 2011, 16 per cent of

intermediate homes should have three or

more bedrooms, representing a four-fold

increase on provision in the last spending

round (see also LHS Policy 1.1C).

Intermediate housing includes low cost home

ownership products such as shared ownership

and shared equity. It also includes affordable

housing options such as intermediate rent and

rent-to-buy products. Intermediate housing

is aimed at households that are not already

homeowners, and are within the target income

range (see below). A planning denition

of intermediate housing is provided in the

draft London Plan and London Plan HousingSupplementary Planning Guidance.


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21

Policy 1.2B | Eligibility for intermediatehousing will be assessed in terms ofincome rather than employment.

Intermediate housing that receives investment

from the HCA will be made available to rst

time buyers in the qualifying income band,

and will not be restricted to employees in

particular sectors (for example public sector

key workers). Where intermediate housing is

provided without public sector investment

for example through Section 106 developer

contributions the Mayor would encourage

boroughs to make the homes available on the

basis of income rather than key worker status,

except where employment criteria would serve

a particular local need.

Policy 1.2C | The top of the income rangefor intermediate housing in London shouldincrease, for families, to 74,000.

The upper income threshold for intermediate

housing should be increased to 74,000

for households with dependents. This is

intended to reect the higher cost of both

developing and buying family-sized homes in

London, and will provide new opportunities

for households with dependents to take up

intermediate housing in the capital.

The income threshold for intermediate

housing is currently set at slightly different

levels for the purposes of housing investment

and planning. Under HCA investment criteria,intermediate housing has only been available

to rst time buyers with an annual household

income of up to 60,000. The effect of

Policy 1.2C is to raise this investment ceiling

for households with dependents buying a

home with three or more bedrooms that is

appropriate for their needs (but to leave the

60,000 threshold unchanged for all others).

For planning purposes, the draft London Plan

proposes that for new homes to be counted

as intermediate, they must be affordable to

households in the income range 18,100 to

61,400, with the aim that the average of all

new intermediate housing should be at the

midpoint of this range. However, for family-

sized homes with three or more bedrooms, it

increases the top of the intermediate income

range by 20 per cent, giving a new upper limit

of 74,000 (rounded to the nearest 1,000).

Policy 1.2C will be adopted from April 2011,

subject to the Examination in Public of this

related policy in the draft London Plan.

Families comprise households with children,

and those that include an adult for whom

a member of the household has caring

responsibilities.

1.2.2 Developing the product rangeThere is a wide range of intermediate housing

products in the market at the moment, available

through the government, through London

boroughs and, increasingly, from private

developers. The government has now indicated

that funding for open market products will notbe renewed in 2010, with new build intermediate

homes given priority. The Mayor wants to

see a product range that is well adapted to


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Londons high value housing market, delivering

products that Londoners want and can afford

and attractive to households throughout the

intermediate income range.

The recent housing market downturn has

prompted a particular wave of product

innovation in the intermediate rented market,

most notably around rent-to-buy options. To

some extent the growth of intermediate rented

products has been specic to the falling housing

market. It is anticipated that in future these

would increasingly be delivered as rent-to-buy

products, with the recent growth ceasing to

continue once the housing market recovers.

However, there may be a continuing role for

some purely intermediate rented housing, for

example as a component of mixed communities

on large sites, or in regeneration schemes.

Policy 1.2D | New intermediatehousing products will be developed,where appropriate, to meet Londonsspecic needs.

Where the needs of rst time buyers are

adequately served by existing products the

Mayor will not intervene. However, to the

extent that new products are needed to ll a

gap in the market, the Mayor will work with

the HCA to bring them forward under his First

Steps programme. He particularly encourages

the promotion of products that offer wider

housing options to encourage existing social

tenants into low cost home ownership. The

HCA will therefore explore piloting new

products, as well as ways of tailoring existing

products, that would be particularly attractive

to social tenants.

First Steps is a programme, not a single

scheme or product. New schemes and

products will be brought to market under the

First Steps umbrella as appropriate. The rst

such product, London and Quadrants Up2U,

was launched in 2009, offering rent-to-buy

opportunities at a number of sites across

the capital. The rst two Up2U schemes, in

Bromley and Wandsworth, attracted 1,300

enquiries - around sixteen enquiries for every

home on offer. The HCA will explore the scope

for a second phase of Up2U, involving a part-

grant/part-equity model.

Policy 1.2E | Homes for intermediaterent will be provided as part of a exibleintermediate product range, whereappropriate to local circumstances.

The Mayor will continue to support high

quality intermediate rented housing where it

demonstrably meets a local need. To that end,

the HCA will continue to fund intermediate

rented products, including rent-to-buy, within

a mixed programme of intermediate housing.

This year in London, rst time buyers who purchased a home paid an average deposit of almost

90,000, with the vast majority of them reliant on a contribution from family or friends


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23

Products that help people save for a deposit,

rather than simply providing a discount on

their rent, may be particularly valuable.

Products should not be funded solely as a

matter of provider interest but should clearly

meet the needs of the target group for

intermediate housing.

Intermediate rented homes are those offered

for rent at a discount of at least 20 per cent

compared with the market rental value of an

equivalent property. Rent-to-buy options offer

a rented product with an option to take up a

form of low cost home ownership in the future.

1.2.3 Improving access and informationThere is a continued demand for intermediate

housing among Londoners, according to research

undertaken for the GLA, with 67 per cent saying

that they would consider buying a home through

low cost home ownership30. However, too many

are confused about what help is available to

rst time buyers, who qualies for it, and how

to apply. For example, half of those surveyed

believe that only key workers can access

intermediate housing and three quarters believe

the income threshold is 30,000 or lower for

single applicants. A signicant proportion do not

know where to go for information about their

options. This confusion and uncertainty means

that some Londoners may be missing out on

intermediate housing opportunities.

Policy 1.2F | Marketing of andinformation about intermediate housingwill be improved.

The HomeBuy agents for London have been

awarded new contracts for 2009-11. Over

the course of these contracts the Mayor and

the HCA will work with the agents to ensure

that improvements are made to the marketing

of all intermediate products in the capital,

responsive to the needs of customers and

delivering value for money to the taxpayer.

In particular, the HCA London Board will set

additional key performance criteria for the

HomeBuy agents, to ensure the best possible

service for customers. A steering group will

provide regular monitoring information on the

performance of the HomeBuy agents service.

The Mayor and HCA will also explore the

possibility of rebranding the HomeBuy service

under the First Steps banner.

Beyond 2011, there will be further

opportunities to consider how marketing of

and access to intermediate housing might

be reformed, and the Mayor will work with

the steering group to develop options for

change over the next spending period. In

particular, the Mayor will consider the scope

to bring forward private sector solutions such

as estate agent marketing of intermediate

homes, with exible nance available

through intermediate products.


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The Mayor will also work with the Council of

Mortgage Lenders to raise their awareness

of the relatively low risk of lending to shared

owners.

1.2.4 Helping struggling homeownersIt is important in the current market to

ensure that sufcient steps are taken to assist

homeowners who may face repossession, the

consequences of which are far reaching and can

result in homelessness, adverse social and health

consequences and a damaged credit rating.

The governments package of measures to

help homeowners at risk of repossession

and homelessness is very much welcomed

by the Mayor. With Londons social housing

sector already the most overstretched in the

country, it is vital that the mortgage rescue

scheme in particular reaches families at risk

of homelessness, particularly those needing

the larger homes that are in shortest supply.

The new higher eligible house price limit, and

discretionary exibility to raise this limit by up

to 20 per cent, are a welcome recognition of

Londons higher house prices and the need for

more effectively targeted help for Londoners.

However, it is important that the schemes on

offer are reviewed on a regular basis and that

full use is made of the available exibilities,

to ensure they provide real help to Londoners

through the economic downturn. It is also

important that struggling households arefully aware of the options available to them,

with boroughs having a critical role through

their housing options services in preventing

repossessions.

The Mayor fully supports recent moves by the

HCA to encourage more housing associations

to participate in the mortgage rescue scheme,

reecting their status as preferred investment

partners.

Policy 1.2G | Policies to help homeownersin difculty will be tailored to Londonsunique circumstances, with a particularview to helping families at risk ofrepossession to stay in their homes.

The government has raised the guideline

ceiling for its mortgage rescue scheme

and has broadened eligibility to include

households in negative equity, following

the Mayor making Londons case for both

of these changes. The Mayor encourages

boroughs, housing associations and nancial

advisors to participate fully in the scheme

and make maximum use of the exibilities

offered in government guidance. In particular,

households who are at risk of repossession

and in priority need should not be excluded

from the scheme on the grounds of their

home being above the guideline ceiling of

305,000.

The Mayor will continue to make the case for

regional exibility in housing market policies

including stamp duty, income support for

mortgage interest and the income thresholdfor intermediate housing.


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Ten new shared ownership homes have

been developed in Putney, as part of LBWandsworths Hidden Homes initiative. The

initiative creates new homes by redeveloping

disused buildings or land owned by the

council. This in turn results in regeneration,

sustainability and improvements for the whole

community. Specic benets can include the

removal of redundant areas prone to anti-

social behaviour and, where shared ownership

is developed as it was in the Putney scheme,

increased tenure mix.

Built on the site of a disused council-owned

car park, the Putney development is a

result of an innovative partnership, with thehomes designed and built by the council

and funded by both Notting Hill Housing

and the HCA. They have proved extremely

popular, with nearly 200 people registering

an interest before their launch in June 2009

and all homes sold or under offer within a few

months.

Interest in the concept is spreading across

London, with at least three other boroughsconsidering embarking on their own

programmes.

Case study |Cambalt Road, Putney, London Borough of Wandsworth


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VisionTo provide many more affordable rented

homes and ensure that social renting

provides an opportunity to foster

aspirations and gives support to those who

need it.

For many Londoners, the high cost of homes,

the limited availability of mortgages and low or

insecure incomes put home ownership, even that

offered through low cost schemes, out of reach.

While the private rented sector is appropriate

for many in housing need, social rented homes

remain a vital component of the range of housing

available to Londoners. The SHMA identies a

requirement for an additional 325,800 homes

between 2007 and 2017, of which 145,600

should be social rented31. This is set against a

40 per cent fall in the number of social lettings

made each year in London over the last decade,

and reects an acute shortage of social rented

homes. A result of this shortage has been a

reliance on temporary accommodation and a

growth in severe overcrowding, particularly

among families needing much larger homes.

To achieve his vision for social housing, the Mayor

will increase the supply of affordable homes

in the capital, including more larger homes to

alleviate overcrowding and specialist provision

for those with support needs. However, there is

unlikely to be sufcient funding in the coming

few years to resolve housing need through the

supply of new social rented housing alone. Better

use of the social housing stock is also required,as well as a greater emphasis on promoting social

mobility - building and supporting the aspirations

of existing and prospective social tenants to

improve their economic circumstances, to be

more geographically mobile and to widen the

housing options available to them. With many

social tenants circumstances changing over time,

a more dynamic approach is needed to ensure

they are fully aware of their housing options in

order to raise and meet aspirations and maximise

opportunities.

1.3.1 Producing more social rentedhomesSocial rented housing is a vital resource. As

part of a range of housing opportunities, it can

provide a springboard for those who aspire to and

can afford home ownership, and stability, security

and affordability to those for whom buying or

renting privately is not appropriate. Investing

to provide more social rented housing is a vital

element of the response to Londons housing

shortage and is key to accommodating many of

the low income workers who are essential to the

capitals economy. It is also a vital component of

meeting the needs of local communities - through

contributing to a choice of tenures, improved

environments and better quality of life.

Policy 1.3A | Of the 50,000 affordablehomes to be delivered between 2008 and2012, 30,000 will be social rented.

Social rented homes will be delivered primarily

through the HCAs investment programme,

through other partners such as the LDA and

boroughs, and through the affordable housing

policies proposed in the draft London Plan(see LHS Policy 1.1B and Section 3.1 on

housing delivery).

1.3 Improving the social rented sector


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Within the overall delivery target, provision

of social rented family-sized homes will be

increased, so that between 2008 and 2011

42 per cent of new social rented homes will

have three bedrooms or more (see also LHS

Policy 1.1C).

Policy 1.3B | Schemes that converttemporary accommodation into permanentsocial homes will be supported, where theyrepresent value for money.

The Mayor is directing investment through the

Targeted Funding Stream to support schemes

that can deliver additional social rented

housing by converting temporary homes to

permanent social homes (see Appendix 1).

Temporary to permanent schemes (referred

to as the settled homes initiative within

the Targeted Funding Stream programme)

combine the rental income of temporary

accommodation with capital grant at levels

lower than those for standard social housing

schemes, to provide a permanent social asset

over time. Such schemes offer the potential

to capture the revenue owing from Housing

Benet and capitalise it, and therefore can

deliver additional value to the public purse.

1.3.2 Providing for allThe social housing sector provides good quality,

affordable homes for people on low incomes.

It also meets a diversity of needs, including

support needs and the diverse needs of groups

with specic housing requirements, including

Gypsies and Travellers, disabled people and

older people. Many peoples support needs can

be met within general needs housing, through

oating support. But for some, such as older or

very vulnerable people, accommodation-based

support can be more appropriate.

Meeting the specic needs of communities

needs to be balanced against tackling the wider

impacts of acute housing shortage, such as severe

overcrowding and homelessness. Overcrowding,

which has a signicant negative impact on

communities, families and individuals, tends to

be concentrated in particular neighbourhoods, is

more likely to affect some minority communities,

and is linked to poorer health and educational

outcomes and increases in anti-social behaviour.

While investment in more family-sized

social rented homes has to be a priority, this

will neither entirely solve the problem of

overcrowding for many years to come, nor

necessarily full the aspirations of social tenants.

Other creative solutions are needed, including

investment in conversions or extensions of

existing social housing to provide larger homes,

or in situ improvements to mitigate the impact

of overcrowding. Also required is a renewed

focus on maximising the use of the existing

housing stock, including a better and more

attractive offer to underoccupiers to incentivise

moves to a smaller home and concerted action

to reduce housing tenancy fraud.


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Policy 1.3C | 1,250 supported homes willbe provided between 2008 and 2011, tomeet the needs of older and vulnerableLondoners.

While the planning and revenue funding of

supported housing is the responsibility of

the boroughs, as is the identication of local

needs that provision is required to meet, the

Mayor has a key role through his investment

powers in enabling these additional homes to

be provided. These homes will be delivered

through the HCAs investment programme.

By the end of September 2009, this target

had been exceeded, with the HCA having

already allocated funding for the delivery

of just over 1,900 supported housing units

during this investment round32.

Supported homes provide accommodation-

based support to vulnerable households.

They may be delivered through new build or

reprovisioning of existing accommodation.

Policy 1.3D | More accommodation willbe provided for Gypsies and Travellers, andexisting provision will be improved.

Through his draft London Plan, the Mayor

proposes a target for an additional 538

pitches over ten years to meet the needs

of Gypsies and Travellers across London.

The Mayor will work with all stakeholders to

provide guidance on implementing this policy,including sources of pitch provision, social and

other infrastructure, and measures to foster

greater social inclusion.

The Mayor will also encourage boroughs to

protect existing Gypsy and Traveller pitches

and refurbish existing sites where needed, and

the HCA will invest at least 6 million in this

investment round (2008-11) in the provision

and repair of pitches.

London boroughs, with the support of the

GLA, have undertaken a Gypsy and Traveller

Accommodation Assessment. In the light of

this assessment and a strategic view of needs

across the region, the Mayor has identied the

number of pitches required for each borough.

Policy 1.3E | By 2016, the level of severeovercrowding in social housing should behalved, with 12,000 underoccupiers havingmoved to a smaller home.

A signicant reduction in overcrowding will

only be achieved by a multi-pronged approach

and the commitments and actions of a range

of partners. Section 1.1.2 sets out the Mayors

aim to increase the proportion of family-sized

affordable homes, so that 42 per cent of new

social rented and, by 2011, 16 per cent of

new intermediate homes provide for families

needing three bedrooms or more. In addition,

the Mayor has directed investment, through

the Targeted Funding Stream, to support

the extension of existing homes and the

deconversion of ats to create larger homes.


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Many social landlords operate successful

schemes that provide attractive opportunities

for those tenants who wish to do so to

trade down to a smaller home. In addition,

the Mayor has agreed with the HCA to

invest 10 million in a pilot out-of-London

programme a voluntary scheme that will

give opportunities to younger underoccupiers

who would like to move to another part of

the country. This will build on the popular

Seaside and Country Homes scheme,

which gives similar opportunities to older

underoccupying tenants. An increase in

the number of underoccupiers moving to a

smaller home could have a signicant impact

on overcrowding in the sector. In 2008/09,

1,600 social renters that were underoccupying

chose to downsize, through either a borough

scheme or through Seaside and Country

Homes. This policy sets a challenging six year

target of 12,000 underoccupier moves, an

average of 2,000 each year.

Some boroughs are meeting the wider

aspirations of overcrowded households on

their transfer lists through providing more

creative housing options. These include

enabling existing tenants to access more

readily available larger private rented homes,

often in preferred locations and of property

types that may not be available in the social

rented sector. Improving access to private

rented homes, linked with employment

support, could also provide new opportunities

for the adult children of existing tenants

potentially alleviating overcrowding and

promoting social mobility.

A London action plan to tackle overcrowding,

setting out how the targets will be achieved

and monitored, will be published in spring

2010.

Overcrowding is measured here in terms of the

bedroom standard. The bedroom standard is

based on how many bedrooms a household

needs according to the age and sex of its

members. Severe overcrowding is dened

as being two bedrooms or more below the

bedroom standard. The baseline for the

overcrowding target is 11,000 households

and is from the Survey of English Housing33.

Information on the number of underoccupier

moves comes from annual returns made

byhousingmoves and by boroughs to

Communities and Local Government (CLG),

and by housing associations through CORE34.

Housing tenancy fraud is estimated to have reduced available social housing for allocation in

England by nearly 50,000 homes


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Across the capital, London boroughs

and housing associations work to tackle

overcrowding among their tenants using avariety of methods and schemes. Approaches

of which there are some examples below

- include adaptations to mitigate the

impact of overcrowding, private rented

sector alternatives and schemes to attract

underoccupiers to downsize.

Westminster City Council has pledged to

rehouse 1,000 overcrowded households from

its housing waiting list living in overcrowded

conditions by 2014. In the rst wave, the

council aims to rehouse its 44 most severely

overcrowded households by March 2010. The

families in this category have had their housing

chances boosted by being moved into the top

band of the boroughs choice based lettings

system. This increases the likelihood of them

bidding successfully for a new appropriately

sized home.

A number of boroughs are making use of theprivate rented sector as a more immediate

solution to overcrowding, given that very large

social rented homes rarely become available.

Through the Breathing Space scheme, Kingston

upon Thames leases homes from the private

sector to provide overcrowded tenants with

the option of moving temporarily, albeit for a

number of years, into somewhere larger. While

living in their larger home, the families retain

their place on the housing waiting list and cancontinue to bid for a social rented home through

the boroughs choice based lettings scheme.

The scheme has, in line with its target, alleviated

overcrowding for 45 households since it was setup in 2007. A similar leasing scheme operates

in Havering, particularly aimed at concealed

households, such as adult children living with

parents since December 2008, 103 households

have been rehoused in this way.

Recognising that many family-sized social homes

are underoccupied by households who no longer

need and want so much space, most social

Case studies |Tackling overcrowding in social rented homes


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31

landlords operate schemes aimed at freeing

up these homes for overcrowded families. The

success of these schemes often depends on thequality of the alternatives offered, the support

given to those moving and, in some cases,

nancial incentives. The two Perfect Fit schemes

in south east and south west London are

partnerships of housing associations in each

sub-region. These make available desirable one

and two bedroom properties specically for

tenants of larger homes who want somewhere

smaller. Larger homes released by the schemes

are offered to overcrowded tenants, whosehome, when vacated, is used to meet the needs

of someone on the housing waiting list. The

south east London scheme, which has been

operating since 2007, has so far released 75

larger homes.

To address some underoccupying tenants

concerns about moving to property of a

lower standard than their current home, the

Your Move pilot in west London offered

homes that had undergone good quality

refurbishment. The pilot, which was funded

through the Mayors Targeted Funding Stream

and ran from November 2008 to March 2009,

provided underoccupiers with redecorated

and improved homes, with new bathrooms

and kitchens. There were 25 moves during

the pilot, releasing three, four and ve

bedroom homes for overcrowded families.

Following the success of the pilot, the YourMove scheme is continuing and now has

further homes in the pipeline.

The Seaside and Country Homes schemeoffers opportunities to move out of London.

Run by housingmoves, the scheme provides

social rented homes in coastal and rural

areas across the country to Londons older

social tenants, particularly underoccupiers. In

2008/9, 220 households moved through this

popular scheme, which has a waiting list of

1,120 households.


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Policy 1.3F | Unauthorised occupancyin the social rented sector should beaddressed.

The Mayor encourages all of Londons social

landlords to participate in the national

initiative announced in July 2009, as well

as the Audit Commissions National Fraud

Initiative and unlawful subletting exercise to

highlight potential cases of tenancy fraud35.

1.3.3 Promoting opportunitiesSocial housing provides a secure platform of

stability and affordability from which individuals

and families should be able to improve their

lives and prosperity. Recently the social sector

has become increasingly characterised by lower

levels of employment and associated social

problems. The needs-led allocation of social

housing and scarcity of lettings have, in London,

limited new entrants to social housing to the

neediest. This has resulted in a disproportionate

number of social tenants with characteristics

that are likely to disadvantage them in the

labour market, and growing concentrations of

poorer households.

There are also restricted opportunities for most

existing and prospective social tenants to access

homes outside their borough. With choice

constrained by administrative boundaries, it is

extremely difcult for those who need to move

to a new area for family reasons or to take up

employment opportunities to do so. In addition,

with housing supply and housing need unevenlymatched across the capital, the lack of mobility

opportunities prevents those in housing need

in high demand areas from benetting from

the new homes being built in those areas with

greater capacity.

Enhancing choice should also include meeting

the needs of and extending the opportunities

for disabled people, who can often be excluded

from choice based lettings schemes and other

measures to promote choice and participation.

Better identication and categorisation of

homes that can meet the needs of disabled

social home seekers, combined with better

advice and support, is essential to ensure

disabled people can make informed decisions

about their housing.

Policy 1.3G | The social rented sectorshould become more economically diverse,with a reduction in worklessness amongtenants.

Through his draft London Plan, the Mayor is

promoting communities that are mixed and

balanced by tenure and household income,

and is working with the HCA to contribute to

fullling this aim.

The Mayor plays a vital role in tackling

worklessness through the London Skills and

Employment Board (LSEB), which he chairs,

the LDA, his agency responsible for driving

Londons sustainable economic growth, and

his draft Economic Development Strategy. The

LDA has invested in a 12 million programme

to help workless parents into jobs through

exible help, which includes improving theaffordability of childcare. It will also continue

to work with the HCA, Department for


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33

Work and Pensions, boroughs and others to

optimise community and household economic

well-being and access to the labour market

for households living in the social rented

sector. In addition, the Mayor is proposing

through his draft Economic Development

Strategy to work with the LSEB and other

partners to signicantly improve training and

employability support, with a particular focus

on neighbourhoods with high concentrations

of worklessness36.

Many social landlords are playing a powerful

role in this area, through offering personalised

support services to their tenants and

prospective tenants to overcome barriers

to employment (see case study on page

34). Providing such services will, over time,

increase the proportion of economically active

households within the social rented sector.

The LSEB has statutory responsibility for

setting the strategic direction for the Learning

and Skills Councils investment of around

600 million each year in adult skills, and its

strategy is the guiding light for Londons skills

and employment agencies.

Policy 1.3H | A proportion of new socialrented homes earmarked for sub-regionalmobility will be made available on a pan-London basis from the next investmentround. Opportunities for pan-London

access to relets of existing social rentedhomes, and for ways of linking work andtraining with mobility, will be exploredwith the boroughs and other key partners.

HCA investment in new social rented homes

is generally made on a sub-regional basis,

so that on any given scheme nominations

are shared out between the boroughs in the

sub-region. From the next investment round,

these arrangements will be amended, to make

a proportion of the sub-regional nominations

available to tenants and applicants from

across the capital. As with the current sub-

regional arrangement, this will apply to both

initial lettings and subsequent relets. In

addition, the Mayor will work closely with

the boroughs and other partners to ensure

that not only new supply but also the relets

of existing social rented homes are available

for pan-London mobility.

Mechanisms will be developed in partnership

with the boroughs and other stakeholders

so that Londoners can easily access these

new opportunities for moves across borough

and sub-regional boundaries. Given that a

household move provides an ideal intervention

27 per cent of housing association transfers are across borough boundaries, with householdsthat are working more common among inter-borough movers than those moving within the borough


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The Housing Employment Connections Service

(HECS) was launched by Home Connections

in November 2008 to give information, advice

and guidance on employment and training

to existing and potential social tenants going

through the choice based lettings (CBL)

process.

Home seekers logging into participating CBL

systems are offered information on benets,

signposting to local sources of help to nd

training and employment and the opportunity

to search for entry-level job vacancies

alongside housing options. Local authority and

housing association landlords can tailor the

information available to their home seekers to

ensure it is local, up to date and relevant. The

system, which can be plugged into any CBL or

housing management service, also allows social

landlords to monitor the level of interest in

services and identify users who would like help

to move into work.

The system uses talking heads, questionnaires,

online referrals and tailored information to

maximise uptake. In its rst six months of

operation, over 3,500 social housing applicants

requested help with jobs and training across

the initial participating landlords - four London

boroughs and the Peabody Trust. Since its

launch, HECs has expanded to a further three

London boroughs.

Case study |Housing Employment Connections Service, Home Connections

In 2007/08, only 46 per cent of wheelchair users moving into a housing association homewere allocated a wheelchair accessible property, while 68 per cent of lettings of wheelchairaccessible homes were to households with no wheelchair user


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point, these mechanisms must link closely

with the provision of employment services,

information, advice and guidance, for example

through the Housing Employment Connections

Service. The Mayor will work with social

landlords to seek ways of prioritising mobility

moves for people in employment or training.

The London NAHP Prospectus 2008-11 sets

out the requirement for all bids for new social

rented homes to be subject to sub-regional

or pan-London nominations. These homes

are currently apportioned to boroughs within

each sub-region in line with the 2004 Sub-

Regional Housing Allocations and Lettings in

London Protocol and the individual protocols

developed by each of the ve sub-regions37.

Policy 1.3I | Disabled people should beable to participate in choice based lettingsschemes on an equal basis to other socialhousing applicants.

Key to achieving this aim is the

implementation of the London Accessible

Housing Register (AHR) by social landlords.

The Mayor is supporting the Londonwide roll

out of the AHR, which is being led by a team

hosted at RB Kensington and Chelsea. The

project is accountable to a board comprising

RB Kensington and Chelsea, the GLA and CLG.

The AHR will deliver high quality information

to disabled people through providing standard

categories of accessibility for all affordable

homes, primarily through choice based lettings

schemes. It also offers the potential to ensure

accessible and adapted housing is more

effectively used and planned for.

Policy 1.3J | Tenants should receivetimely and appropriate information andsupport on their housing options.

Social landlords will continue to play a

vital role in increasing the opportunities

and support available to their existing and

prospective tenants, recognising that tenants

circumstances and aspirations may change over

time. Regular advice, information and support,

as well as the provision of an attractive range

of options, will ensure that tenants remain fully

informed and are enabled to make positive

decisions about their housing options. This

range of options may include low cost home

ownership, the private rented sector and equity

shares, to enable tenure mobility.

Almost two thirds of all workless households in London live in social housing, and almosthalf of all working age households in social rented homes are not in employment


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VisionTo promote a vibrant and attractive

private rented sector to support Londons

economic vitality.

The private rented sector provides a vital and

often relatively affordable housing option for

Londoners, and is the rst choice for most of the

thousands of people who move to the capital

every year. It plays a crucial role in sustaining the

dynamism of the capitals economy, responding

to the demands of a changing, exible and

mobile labour market. It also provides homes

for a diverse range of people, including young

professionals, students, economic migrants and

people in housing need38.

Londons private rented sector has seen a

resurgence over the last 15 years. It now

accommodates one in ve London households,

and over half of the households in London that

move home each year move into privately rented

accommodation39. This is, in large part, due to

the sectors exibility compared with owner

occupation and social renting. It is also usually

more affordable than buying a home.

The rapid growth of the sector has in no small

part been due to the activity of buy-to-let

investors. In 2006, an estimated two thirds of

all newly built homes were bought by investors,

most of which were small-scale40. The expansion

of the buy-to-let market has been welcome in

as much as it has increased the much-needed

supply of rental homes, most of which are goodquality and well managed. However, current

market conditions have seen a signicant

reduction in buy-to-let investment, suggesting

that the recent growth in the sector will be on

hold, at least in the short term. The involvement

of institutional investors in residential

development would bring in new sources of

nance, and a requirement for homes to be

built to a higher quality and managed more

professionally.

The Mayor aims to enhance the signicant

contribution the private rented sector makes to

meeting the needs and aspirations of Londoners.

This aim will be delivered through increasing the

supply of private rented homes and improving

the conditions and management within, and

access to, the sector. In addition, he intends to

undertake a London-specic assessment of the

sector to establish the particular opportunities

and challenges that exist in the capital.

1.4.1 Providing more privaterented homesIn the current period of housing market

uncertainty, demand for private rented homes

is strong and strengthening, as uncertain house

prices and limited mortgage availability cause

more people to delay buying a home. There is

also signicant potential demand from those who

may have in the past limited their aspirations and

choice to the social sector, such as those who are

overcrowded or who are homeless in temporary

accommodation or hostels.

New ways of meeting this demand need to be

found, particularly in the context of the collapse

of buy-to-let investment. Greater institutionalinvestment could play a signicant role, not

only by providing much-needed supply but also

by bringing more professional and consistent

1.4 Improving the private rented sector


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management, greater stability, higher quality

standards and, potentially, longer term rental

periods. This in turn is likely to improve the

image of the sector and increase its appeal to an

even broader range of potential tenants.

Policy 1.4A | More institutional investmentin private renting will be promoted.

The HCA launched its national Private Rented

Sector Initiative (PRSI) in May 2009. This

aims in the medium term to bring new private

investors into the residential housing market.

In London, this will be overseen by the

HCAs London Board, chaired by the Mayor.

The initiative has invited investors, such as

pension funds and insurance companies, to

submit expressions of interest setting out

how they could work with the HCA to develop

a long term funding model for new private

rented housing. See Section 3.1 for details

of the Mayors plans to attract institutional

investment across all tenures.

The HCA has set out the aims of the PRSI as

increasing the choice and quality of private

rental options, attracting more long term

investors and new sources of funding to

housing development and improving scheme

viability of housebuilding projects. To achieve

these aims the HCA is considering a range of

options to support investment in the private

rented sector.

1.4.2 Improving quality and accessMuch of the private sector provides well-

managed, good quality accommodation.

However, sub-standard properties and

inadequate management remain unwelcome

features of a small part of the sector, particularly

at the lower end. Poor quality private rented

sector housing can have serious consequences

for both the health and well-being, and

the safety and security, of individuals and

communities. The challenge is to ensure

uniformly high levels of quality and management

across the sector and across the capital.

It is also important that prospective tenants

in London are fully informed about rent levels

in the capital to maximise their choice and

housing options. Though private renting can

often be more affordable than buying, rents

are still prohibitively high for many Londoners

in some parts of the capital. For a city with a

highly mobile population, it is essential that

those seeking a home in this sector have

the information to be able to make informed

choices appropriate to their requirements

and resources.

The private rented sector houses a diverse

range of Londoners, including vulnerable and

homeless people. As part of a range of options

the sector can respond to the requirements of

these groups, by both offering more choice and

quicker access than other housing tenures and

lessening the increasingly unrealistic demands

made on the social rented sector. With the right

level of support and safeguards, these features

can make private renting a desirable housing

option. Because of the chronic shortage, socialhousing cannot provide for all - and should not

uploads-housing strategy final feb10

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