London faces an acute and urgent housing crisis, evidenced by extreme unaffordability and a desperate shortage of housing. That need is more acute in the city than any other place in the United Kingdom, experiencing the greatest need for housing along with outrageous costs to build. These reports indicate that upfront costs in London are 43 times higher than in the West Midlands. They are 36 times worse than in Greater Manchester, emphasizing the grim inequalities that compound the crisis.
Local government officials have been sounding the alarm over the rising costs to local councils from the unsustainable spending on temporary housing. More than 183,000 Londoners now find themselves homeless and depending on temporary lodgings. As a result, many boroughs are now crying foul as their budgets approach the unsustainable, criticizing in silence over looming silent bankruptcies. Grace Williams, the executive member for housing at London Councils, said it was “shocking.” In her fiery farewell, she stressed that it’s destroying the lives of far too many Londoners.
The current Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has made this housing crisis a central focus of his time as Mayor. Since taking office in January 2025, he’s made a remarkable £10 million splash investment to combat rough sleeping. This action confirmed that he means business about stopping it by 2030. We all inherited a dangerous housing crisis. That’s why we’re taking urgent and decisive action to end homelessness. The spokesperson from the government of one of these countries, during the worst of the crisis, echoed the urgency of this situation.
The report finds that Wandsworth is responsible for the highest upfront costs in England. It will cost over four times as much to build that needed homes on Wandsworth than it would to achieve the full housing target across the whole of the West Midlands.
The rental market is not immune to the crisis that has overtaken our nation’s housing. It could only have gotten worse as in 2024, London’s 2.7 million private tenants saw the steepest increase in rent across all of England’s private sector at 11.5%. A new survey has found that 45% of all Londoners think the cost of houses is the greatest hurdle for first-time buyers to overcome. This has become the growing crux of the city’s affordable housing crisis.
Dr. Sally Zlotowitz, co-chair of the APHA’s Housing and Mental Health Network, is raising the alarm on the mental health fallout from this crisis. She identifies a “increasing alarm” about the harmful impact of unhealthy housing on the health of residents.
The issues affecting London’s housing market are layered and ingrained in historical, systemic racism. Local councils are increasingly making the case for action to be taken urgently by regional and national authorities. Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, echoed these sentiments, stating there is “no time to waste” in addressing this “emergency.”