Just 51 Affordable Housing Starts in Southwark, and Zero London Affordable Rent

Government data on affordable housing starts has revealed the extent to which affordable house building has collapsed in Southwark, with just 51 affordable housing starts in 2023/2024, compared to over 1800 the year before.  

Just 38 social rent homes were started in the last financial year, 28 of which are council homes.  

The Liberal Democrats in Southwark broke the news about council house starts in May this year, revealing they had collapsed by 96%, and only 45% of starts since 2017 had actually been completed. Wards like Borough and Bankside were revealed to have had only a single council home completed since 2017. 

This new data confirms that under the leadership of the Labour council, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, all affordable starts had collapsed, with zero starts on non-social rent categories like “Intermediate” and “London Affordable Rent”.

The Liberal Democrats have hit out at the Labour council, accusing them of boasting about a housebuilding record that doesn’t exist.   

Liberal Democrat Borough and Bankside Councillor, and Leader of the Opposition Cllr Victor Chamberlain said: 

“It’s no surprise at all to us that our Labour Council and Sadiq Khan’s empty words have been exposed as pure spin. They are failing to deliver the homes we need to end the housing crisis, and they should hang their heads in shame. Residents on the waiting list understand that there is not enough social housing being built, and it’s time our Council recognised that as well”.