Just one ‘affordable home’ started in Hounslow since April, and one in Ealing, new figures show

GLA figures show huge drop in the construction of affordable housing in London

Only one new home classed as ‘affordable’, built by the local authority and made available to those on lower incomes, has been started by Hounslow Council between April and June this year, despite the Council’s promise in its four-year Corporate Plan, published in 2022, that it would build 1,000 council homes.

READ ALSO: Hounslow launches Corporate Plan for the next four years

The figure, revealed by the Greater London Assembly, reflects a dismal record on council house building across the whole of London, at a time of severe housing crisis. There were only 347 affordable homes started between June and April in all 32 London boroughs.

New build in Hounslow, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham grinds to a halt

Looking at the last whole financial year April 2024 – March 2025, Hounslow has started building 38 affordable homes, which the Conservative opposition group on the Council points out is less than a third of the average affordable homes started in other boroughs:

“making Hounslow one of the worst performing councils for affordable house building in Greater London”.

When house building completions are taken into consideration, Hounslow Council fares rather better.

Hounslow has completed 89 affordable homes in the three months April – June this year and completed 400 during the financial year 2024-25 taken as a whole. Compared with other London boroughs, the rate of completion puts them 37 ahead of the average.

Leader of Hounslow Council Cllr Shantanu Rajawat dismisses the three month timeframe as too short a period to be meaningful and hit back with a forceful defence of the Council’s record:

“We have a strong record on delivering affordable housing. The last administration delivered 5,000 homes and we’re on track to deliver an additional 2,000″.

READ ALSO: Leader of Hounslow Council hits back at Tory jibe that Labour is not delivering on housing

Hammersmith & Fulham borough has started two homes since April and completed 103. During the financial year April 2024 – March 2025 Hammersmith & Fulham started 235 and completed 400, the same as Hounslow.

Ealing borough has started just one home since April and completed none. During the financial year April 2024 – March 2025 however, Ealing started 240 and completed 579 (216 above the London average).

Ealing also gave a detailed answer on the problems they face and how they are working to overcome them, and also highlighted the statistics from a longer period which shows them in a better light.

READ ALSO: Ealing reponds to GLA figures on lack of affordable housing being built

READ ALSO: Hotel converted into emergency housing for Ealing families

‘Affordable housing’ is a wide-ranging category which includes properties let at rents of no more than 80% of local market rates, as well as shared ownership homes and social rent properties which are set at about 50% of market levels.

London ‘the most expensive city in the world to build’

The statistics show that “affordable housing starts have effectively ground to a halt across London”, say the Conservatives, following an agreement in May between Sadiq Khan and Angela Rayner to cut the capital’s affordable housing target by 22%.

At the time, the GLA said the decision “responds to the difficult conditions London currently faces”.

Deputy mayor for housing, Tom Copley, blamed the “horrendous legacy of the last government”, as well as high interest rates, spiralling building costs and “the lasting impact of Brexit” for the cut in the target, saying that made it “harder and more expensive to build homes”.

London is the most expensive city in the world in which to build, according to the Arcadis 2024 International Construction Costs (ICC) report, a study of comparative construction costs across 100 global cities.

The decision to cut the target of affordable homes being built in London 2021 – 2026 reflected the reality that there had already been a huge drop in new building. Last November GLA figures revealed an 88% drop in the number of new affordable homes started across Greater London between April 2023 and March 2024 – 3,156 down from the previous year’s 26,386.

London now has the lowest number of housing starts per capita than any other region in England, despite having the highest need.

Jack Emsley, Conservative Councillor for Chiswick Homefields, said:

“Hounslow, like every other borough in our city, is facing an acute shortage of affordable homes – these latest figures show that both Hounslow Council and Sadiq Khan are failing to step up and take this issue seriously.

“Housing need is one of the largest single issues I deal with as a councillor, and the failure to build affordable homes in our capital is only going to exacerbate the housing crisis. Hounslow Council and Sadiq Khan talk a big game when it comes to housebuilding, but these figures show that they simply aren’t delivering.”

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