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UK: London’s housing delivery has reached a critical tipping point with industry voices including developer Pocket Living and the Home Builders Federation (HBF) calling on the government for urgent reform.
Pocket Living has published a nine-point plan, The Road to a Proportionate System, aimed at unblocking SME-led delivery across the capital.
Backed by the all-parliamentary group for SME housebuilders and endorsed by MP Sarah Edwards, the report calls for reforms including streamlined planning processes, brownfield passports, national S106 templates, and tailored mortgage support for first-time buyers.
Contributors include Nicholas Boys Smith MBE, former chair of the government’s Office for Place, and Jack Airey, former government housing adviser.
Pocket Living CEO Paul Rickard said: “With the volume builders struggling to deliver the homes we need due a combination of regulatory delays and a softening sales climate for large-phase developments, in part driven by the dearth of support for first-time buyers, there is a golden opportunity for SMEs to step in and take up the slack. Our nine-point plan would unlock a wave of sector growth not seen since the 1970s, reversing decades of decline and unlocking the full potential of SME-led delivery.”
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has echoed the urgency. In its Mind the Gap report, it has warned that London is falling dangerously short of its housing targets.
Completions dropped to 30,000 in the year to June 2025, down 12 per cent year-on-year and well below peak levels. Planning approvals have plummeted to their lowest since records began in 2006, while new site starts are down 38 per cent.
With the capital expected to contribute 440,000 homes toward the government’s 1.5 million target by 2030, output would need to more than double to meet demand. Affordability remains a central barrier: first-time buyers now face deposits equivalent to seven times annual income, with ownership rates in London sliding sharply over the past decade.
Both reports highlight excessive bureaucracy, planning delays, and unrealistic affordable housing requirements as key constraints, while warning that the Building Safety Regulator is disproportionately stalling higher-rise schemes in the capital.
Neil Jefferson, CEO of the HBF, said: “The findings of Mind the Gap should be a major wake-up call for Government and the Mayor of London. The capital needs an urgent overhaul of housing policy if it is to support the housing needs of Londoners. London Plan policies combined with additional government taxes on new homes, onerous processes to get higher-rise schemes approved and challenging market conditions have effectively made London a no-go zone for housing investment.”
“Intervention is desperately needed to support first-time buyers, with Londoners facing the biggest barriers to home ownership in the country. If Government is to stand a chance at making its aspirational 1.5 million homes target a reality, ministers must prioritise action to reverse the alarming decline in housing delivery across the capital.”
Highlights:
- Pocket Living has unveiled a nine-point plan to boost SME-led housing delivery, backed by MPs and housing policy experts.
- HBF has warned completions in London have fallen 12 per cent year-on-year, with planning approvals at their lowest since 2006.
- Both reports call for urgent reforms to planning, affordability support, and regulatory burdens to prevent housing delivery collapse.
