Christine Whitehead was one of the Commissioners on the London Housing Commission which produced a final report titled, Building a new deal for London. The London Housing Commission is part of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

Here is an excerpt of the press release.

“London faces unprecedented challenges in housing its citizens. The London Housing Commission proposes a new deal to secure essential powers and resources for the London mayor and boroughs, and a programme of immediate actions to start to redress the crisis.

Providing enough secure, affordable and decent homes is one of the biggest challenges facing the capital – London needs at least 50,000 of them each year to keep pace with its growing population. Currently, it is falling far short: last year only 25,000 new homes were built.

London’s unprecedented housing crisis has serious consequences. Businesses struggle to recruit and retain staff. More and more people live in overcrowded social and rented homes. Housing-induced poverty remains stubbornly high. And the government is spending billions of pounds on housing benefit to keep a roof over renters’ heads and provide temporary accommodation for homeless families.

The next mayor of London and the 33 boroughs should join forces to strike a major devolution deal with central government. They should commit to increase supply to 50,000 homes a year by the end of the decade, to ensure that London has sufficient affordable housing for citizens of all income levels, and to eliminate poor conditions in the rented market. In return, the government should give London significant new freedoms to control its own planning, borrowing and taxes.”

You can read the rest of the press release and download the report here.