Accelerating Housebuilding in London

On 23 October 2025, the Government and the Mayor of London published a policy statement setting out a package of emergency measures intended to address London’s housing shortage and accelerate housebuilding. The initiative responds to a combination of rising construction costs, high interest rates, regulatory barriers, and stalled development sites. The package involves the Government and the Mayor playing a direct role in delivery through strategic investment and implementation will require close collaboration between developers, boroughs, and social landlords.

This package sits alongside the Government’s wider reforms to the planning system and falls within the context of the Government’s objective to build 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament. We have set out a summary of the five proposed measures below.

1. Time-Limited Planning Route: A time-limited planning route to sit alongside the existing fast track and viability tested routes, designed to encourage schemes to come forward, and existing schemes to progress, to support a rapid recovery in housing delivery. The new route would enable developers to secure planning permission without a viability assessment on private land where they commit to 20% affordable housing, with a minimum of 60 per cent Social Rent (and the rest intermediate tenures in line with London Plan policy), of which half will be eligible to receive grant funding from central Government. This route will be available until 31 March 2028 or the publication of the revised London Plan, whichever is earlier. Developers have consistently highlighted the practical challenge of London Plan’s 35% affordable housing requirement and this is a notable departure from that policy position. The government also intends to clarify the use of Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 via updated Planning Practice Guidance so that an application under this section to vary a condition of a planning permission should no longer be used as an alternative means of reconsidering fundamental questions of scheme viability or planning obligations;
2. Temporary Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Relief:  Developers committing to at least 20% affordable housing under the new time-limited planning route will be eligible for 50% Borough CIL relief, with further relief available for higher levels of affordable housing. Mayoral CIL is not affected;
3. Removal of elements of London Plan guidance that can constrain density: The removal of guidance restricting development density, including dual-aspect unit standards, density restrictions per stair core, and amendments to cycle storage requirements;
4. Extended Mayoral Powers: New powers to enable the Mayor to review and call in applications for schemes over 50 homes, where boroughs intend to refuse, and developments on Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land exceeding 1,000 sqm. Amendments to the Town and Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 are proposed to facilitate these changes; and
5. City Hall Developer Investment Fund: The creation of a new City Hall Developer Investment Fund with an initial allocation of £322 million of grant investment to enable the Mayor to take a more direct and interventionist role to unlock thousands of new homes, including targeted investment to accelerate delivery on sites. The Government and the Mayor will work together to develop proposals for the potential New Town locations identified in London.

The Government proposes to consult on the first four measures for 6 weeks from November. The annex to the statement notes that the first and third measures will be implemented via Emergency London Plan Guidance and the second and fourth via secondary legislation, with further information to be provided on the fifth. We have extensive experience in advising on new residential schemes, both in London and regionally, so please contact Gary Soloman or Matthew Tucker if you have any queries.