Experts warn of 60,000 London homes shortfall

A NEW alarm about the London housing crisis was sounded today when figures showed that the capital faces a 60,000 shortfall in new homes over the next three years.

- Jonathan Prynn

A report from property consultants and advisers CBRE shows that the number of new planning applications, consents and construction starts are now running at 60% below their peaks of 2015.

A combination of a period of high interest rates, political uncertainty, planning delays and new regulatory demands such as the post-Grenfell requirement for two staircases in taller buildings, has drastically slowed down the housing pipeline in the capital.

The warning comes ahead of an election which is likely to return a Labour government committed to delivering 1.5 million new homes nationally over the five year course of the next Parliament.