Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the causes of the decline in the number of houses delivered in London this year.

When it comes to development, London faces challenges that are common to all parts of England over recent years. These include a significant increase in building material prices; a rise in financing costs; and planning capacity and capability pressures.

In addition, the capital faces a number of challenges unique to its housing market which differs in important ways from the rest of the country. These include the fact that London is overwhelmingly reliant on flatted developments; has depended over recent decades on demand from international buyers and investors; and has a higher proportion of landowners (and traders acting on their behalf) who are global investors allocating development funding based on competing returns globally and across asset classes.

The government is acutely aware of the housing delivery challenge in London. We are committed to working in partnership with the Mayor of London, London Boroughs, and other partners to significantly increase rates of housebuilding in the capital as part of our ambitious Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in this Parliament.

On 23 October 2025, the Secretary of State and the Mayor of London announced a new package of support for housebuilding in London. Details of that package can be found on gov.uk here.

This package sits alongside reforms to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) announced on 30 June 2025, including operational and policy changes to speed up decision making, particularly on building control approval and the introduction of an Innovation Unit and batching process. Early signs are positive with all applications in the Innovation Unit so far on track to exceed or meet the 12-week SLA target.