Moving Home Advice: Clarity needed on London's affordable housing completions

Following the GLA's data about affordable housing starts and completions, Moving Home Advice has questioned the disparity between the two figures.

Moving Home Advice: Clarity needed on London's affordable housing completions

Across the 2019/20 financial year, the Greater London Authority (GLA) reported 17,256 affordable home starts, topping the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's 17,000 target, if only marginally. 

However, this equated to only 7,775 affordable housing completions, and free home moving guidance site Moving Home Advice has called for more clarity on the disparity between these numbers.

Referencing Khan's statement on Twitter that "last year was a record-breaking year for building new affordable homes in London," Russell Quirk, property expert at Moving Home Advice has questioned the definitions being used - click here for more info .

In addition, the company pointed out that, over four years, there have been a reported 51,771 affordable housing starts, with a corresponding 25,608 completions.

Quirk said: “We’ve all heard of the Bermuda Triangle and how it makes planes and boats disappear, but no one would have guessed that there is a similar phenomenon in London where affordable housing is concerned.

“In the four years of the current Mayor’s tenure, only 49% of the affordable housing that was allegedly incepted, has actually been completed and clearly Sadiq Khan, election looming or not, has questions to answer over where these phantom dwellings have been lost."