Will Labour's plan for 1.5m affordable homes ease Lewisham's housing crisis?

Lewisham has over 11,000 households on the housing waiting list, alongside a legal duty to offer temporary accommodation to its most vulnerable residents.

At Lewisham's budget setting meeting in February, councillors Will Cooper and James-J Walsh highlighted the impact of the crisis on their different areas.

Will Cooper, Lewisham's cabinet Member for Better Homes, Neighbourhoods and Homelessness, described how skyrocketing private rents and the continuing cost of living crisis mean that more Lewisham residents are becoming homeless and seeking council help.

The government has announced several initiatives on housing since the election - it is winding down right to buy, introducing a new renters' rights bill and on 11th June announced its target to build 1.5 million social and affordable homes within this parliament - equating to around 300,000 new homes per year.

But critics argue that the Labour is failing to acknowledge the root causes of the housing crisis and has done nothing to restrain a private rented sector that is out of control.

In part 1, we ask Cllr Cooper whether the government's planned initiatives will help improve the situation of private renters and alleviate homelessness in Lewisham.

In part 2, we pose questions about the home building programme to Cllr Walsh.

Thatcher's Right to Buy comes to an end (almost)

Margaret Thatcher's right to buy policy was introduced in 1979, allowing council tenants to buy their homes at a large discount. Many of these homes were resold shortly afterwards at the market rate or privately rented out.

Over 45 years, the policy decimated London's council housing stock leading to increased homelessness, and it had a disastrous impact on council finances.

The government cut the discount on right to buy on 21^st November 2024, resulting in a surge of applications before the deadline.

Cooper confirmed that Lewisham council received 803 Right to Buy applications in November 2024, compared to a usual monthly average of 9.6, a trend seen across other London boroughs.

He expects less than 30% of the applications to result in sales.

"Changes to right to buy, including reducing the discount from over £100,000 to £16,000, increasing the time you must be in a property before being able to access right to buy and a ban on right to buy on new build properties, means we expect right to buy numbers to come down to near zero," he confirmed.

Renters rights in Lewisham

The renters’ rights bill is due to be introduced in July. We asked whether it would help cap or control rent increases.

Cooper responded: "Historically, local authorities have had little power over the private rental market, so any action to protect renters from rogue landlords and shelter them from unnecessary evictions and exorbitant rent increases is very welcome."

He pointed out that the council had set up three types of landlord licences, designed to protect private renters in Lewisham. The licence types give the council power "to combat rogue landlords, and even inspect rental properties across almost all of our private rental properties in the borough".

"Under all three license types, landlords are obligated to meet certain minimum standards when it comes to repairs, the condition of the property and fire safety.

"Coupled with the introduction of the Renters Reform Bill, changes such as the coming end to Section 21 evictions, which allow landlords to evict tenants at no fault of their own, mean there is a better era of renting on the horizon.

"Renters will now also have to right to challenge rent increases at a tribunal, ensuring that landlords cannot take advantage of tenants, this is also strengthened by the outlawing of bidding wars on properties, which is a common issue in Lewisham’s rental market," he added.

Government Affordable Homes programme

The government announced its target to build 1.5 m social and affordable homes on 11th June.

However, it is not clear that the affordable homes programme will help much if private rents continue their meteoric rise.

The government's definition of "affordable rent" is rent set at 80% or less of the market rate. But at this level, "affordable" housing will remain out of reach of many Lewisham residents.

Cooper did not directly address this issue, except to confirm that the council welcomed the government announcement.

"Councils are under extreme financial pressure, and temporary housing and homelessness prevention costs are a major part of the problem," he said.

"Ultimately, this crisis cannot be solved without action at a national level."

The market rent gap - costing London council's £4m a day

Councils have to pick up the cost of the gap between the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rate and temporary accommodation in the private sector.

"The rate is based on extremely outdated costs from 2011 and is currently costing local authorities in London around £4 million a day in Temporary Accommodation costs," Cooper said.

"Lewisham Council continues to press the government to reform the level of LHA so it is fit for the modern housing market and take significant steps to ensure the homelessness crisis is ended once and for all."

While he was positive about the changes in government policy to date, he emphasised that there is much more to do.

"I continue to press government ministers on our asks for long term solutions, but welcome the progress made so far from a government that is actively listening to local councils," he said.    

 In part 2, we ask Councillor James-J Walsh, Lewisham's Cabinet member for Inclusive regeneration and planning whether the government's 1.5 m new homes target announcement will deliver the housing that Lewisham needs.

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