A majority of Londoners support building new homes on grey belt land, according to research commissioned by London Councils and undertaken by pollsters at Ipsos.
The cross-party London Councils group has published its annual Survey of Londoners, which found 56% in favour of housebuilding on the grey belt – defined as “parts of greenbelt land which have previously been built on, such as car parks and old petrol stations” – with 18% opposed. Almost three quarters (74%) of people living in London support housebuilding in their area if the new homes are affordable to locals.
Londoners believe the cost of living and housing affordability are the most important issues currently facing the capital, according to this survey.
On average, Londoners say they spend 42% of their personal monthly income on their rent or mortgage. 7 in 10 say their rent or mortgage payments have increased in the past 12 months.
People living in rented accommodation are at the sharp end of this, with eight in ten Londoners who rent their homes from private or social landlords saying they think there are not enough affordable homes in London.
Just 24% of London renters think there are enough suitable properties available in London for them to rent. This has a potential impact on life choices – one in four (24%) say they may need to leave the capital in the next 12 months to find an affordable rent.
London Councils has previously warned that homelessness in the capital has reached record highs, with more than one in 50 Londoners (183,000) homeless and living in temporary accommodation. Boroughs collectively spend £4m every day on accommodation for homeless Londoners. There are 320,000 households on waiting lists for social housing in the capital.
London Councils, which represents all 32 boroughs and the City of London Corporation, says the homelessness situation is an “emergency” and that turbocharging delivery of affordable housing is a critical priority.
Cllr Claire Holland, Chair of London Councils, said:
“Londoners are acutely aware of the massive housing pressures in the capital and the desperate need to build more affordable homes.
“London faces the most severe homelessness emergency in the country. Driven by the worsening shortage of affordable housing, far too many Londoners are struggling with their housing costs and at risk of becoming homeless.
“Boroughs are determined to do all we can to support our residents and to end this crisis. We want to work closely with the government in ensuring low-income households are helped to meet their housing costs and avoid homelessness. Alongside this we are resolutely pro-housing growth, and keen to work with ministers in ramping up bricks and mortar delivery. Our communities are crying out for new affordable homes – we must ensure 2025 becomes the year of turbocharged housebuilding in London.”
Among its priorities for national policy action, London Councils is seeking:
Local Housing Allowance rates to be updated regularly. Research recently published by London Councils shows only 5% of London’s private rental listings in the capital are affordable to households relying on Local Housing Allowance. Boroughs are calling for LHA rates to be updated annually to track market rents and help ensure adequate support for low-income tenants in the private rented sector.
A new funding settlement for the social housing sector. Earlier this year London Councils shared analysis showing a £700m “black hole” in boroughs’ social housing finances, with implications for how boroughs maintain existing social housing stock as well as build the next generation of London social housing.
Infrastructure investment to unlock housing supply. For example, longer-term funding is vital for new transport investment that will enable new homes to be built on sites across London.
London Councils’ Survey of Londoners tests opinion on a range of issues, such as housing, transport, employment, and crime. Around 1,000 adult Londoners were surveyed online, with fieldwork taking place in October 2024.
Additional key findings from the survey:
• Londoners are increasingly satisfied with their local area as a place to live (65%, up 3 percentage points compared to 2023). Almost seven in ten (69%) feel a sense of belonging to their local area.
• 70% of Londoners support local councils having more power over tax and spending if it meant local communities have more of a say. By contrast, 11% oppose this.
• Londoners are most likely to trust their local community (63%) to make decisions about which new housing developments are built – but support is also high for their local council (57%) and the Mayor of London (50%).
• Londoners have become increasingly disillusioned about the affordability of buying a home – almost half (48%) disagree that house prices will fall in London over the next two years, an 11-percentage point increase since 2023.
ENDS
Ipsos conducted an online survey of 1,000 residents aged 18+ living in Greater London using Ipsos’s iSay Panel, a panel of pre-recruited individuals who have agreed to take part in research.
Fieldwork took place between 1 – 17 October 2024 inclusive.
Quotas were set by age, gender, work status and inner/outer London, with final data also weighted to these profiles along with housing tenure and ethnicity to match the profile of the wider London population.