Londons 'Spiraling Housing Crisis' in numbers

London is the richest city in Europe, but for many who live in the capital, according to the Center for London (CFL), a place where you can call home.

At the beginning of this week, the independent Think Tank organized Housing Summit in London and highlighted the challenges and possible solutions for the real estate crisis, which is “out of control”.

Experts agree that it is a complex topic, but what do the numbers show us about the extent of the problem?

According to the data recorded by the combined homelessness and information network (chain), in the same period of 2024, 8%rose in the same period.

New Rough Sleepings make up almost half (47%) of the total number of rough, temporarily rough sleepers that make up 39%, and 16% of the recorded number of raw navigation lived on the streets.

Chain's latest annual report for 2024/25 shows that a tough sleep in London has achieved an “all -time high”.

The mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has committed to completing the Rough Sleeping in London by 2030. In January 2025, he announced an additional investment of 10 million GBP to achieve this goal.

The money is expanded into the expansion of the network of its final roof hubs of the final duties, which are supported around the clock for people who are new in rough sleep and prevention services.

The councils are legally obliged to accommodate local people who become homeless. Usually they put people in hotels or hostels until more permanent precautions can be taken.

Since homelessness has increased in recent years, it has the financial burden on local authorities.

The Umbrella group, which represents the London districts, said that the current expenses for temporary accommodations are “not sustainable” and consists of many councils to become “effective”, which creates “massive uncertainty” for the future of local services.

According to London councils, who handed over the homelessness of 2024/25 around 330 million GBP with the budget, the expenses in this area rose by 68%in a single year.

According to his latest analysis, more than 183,000 Londoners are currently homeless and live in temporary accommodations such as Hostels, which are arranged by their local districts.

This includes 90,000 children, which corresponds to more than one per classroom, says London Councils.

The human influence of these numbers is something that the housing network for the political decision -makers emphasizes.

Dr. Sally Zlotowitz, co-chair of the network, said that it was a “growing concern” that people in temporary accommodation “are a problem that is a structural crisis”.

Grace Williams, executive member of the London city councilors for housing, described this as a “emergency”, which was “the life of too many Londoners”.

The organization has asked the government to support the councils by increasing the financing for short-term temporary accommodations and for long-term solutions, as is increasing the increase in grant financing for affordable apartments.

A government spokesman said: “We have inherited a serious real estate crisis, which is why we take urgent and determined measures to end the homelessness, to determine the basics of the local government and to advance our plan for changes.

“We offer 1 billion pound for crucial homeless services so that the councils can support families faster. This is an increase of 233 million GBP from 2024 to 25, and the London districts have more than 78 million GBP.

“We also deal with its causes by building 1.5 million new houses, promoting social and affordable apartments and impending section 21 without faults.”

The private rental sector in London has shrunk because the landlords are increasingly determined to sell their real estate.

According to the analysis of Trust for London, 45,000 houses from the sector were lost between April 2021 December 2023, which corresponds to a net reduction of 4.3%.

The charity also said that the sector shrank much faster, the most affordable areas that you should rent, which you had for a “special impact” on the ability of households with low incomes to gain access to private rented houses.

The National Residential Unit of Landlord said “uncertainty about the proposed tax and regulatory changes means that many landlords are considered to leave the market”.

The association added that the demand for private rental houses continued to increase, which increased the costs for tenants and reduced the selection.

In the 2.7 million private tenants in London, their rents rose by 11.5%in 2024, with the capital, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the greatest increases in England.

Surveys published this week by the Center for London revealed three out of five London tenants that the rent was personally unaffordable for them.

Both the necessity of houses and the costs for the construction – in London are larger than somewhere else in the country, the Center for London has found analysis.

The advance costs in London are 43 times higher than in the West Midlands and 36 -higher than in Greater Manchester.

The research results of the Think Tank show that the number of houses required in the Wandsworth district that have the highest advance costs in England in England will cost four times more than it would cost to deliver the entire apartment destination for West Midlands.

This comes when the surveys of the think tank questioned 45% of Londoners what they think for the biggest problems on the London housing market, said that first buyers could not afford a house.

A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: “The mayor will continue to work in cooperation with the government in order to provide really affordable houses through the planning system and the new investments so that we can approach the London real estate crisis and build a fairer London for everyone.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Housing Angela Rayner said that there is “no time for waste” and that it is “crucial” to “build Britain”.

While there are destinations for new houses – delegates at the Housing Summit in London this week have expressed concerns about the existing housing stock in London.

Center for London's surveys showed that a third of the Londoner experienced moisture and mold and that over a quarter was unable to keep their houses warm.

The accommodation, Kwajo Tweneboa, uses social media to campaign on the subjects of moisture and mold, and said Eddie Nestor on BBC Radio London. The situation is “terrible”.

During the Mayor election campaign of 2024, Sir Sadiq promised his support for an introduction of high-tech mold sensors, which, according to the town hall, would provide an “early warning system”.

Industry leaders have warned that there is a “bad lack” of construction workers. The latest figures for national statistics show that there are over 35,000 job offers, and employers report that more than half of the job offers cannot be filled due to lack of skills – the highest rate of a sector.

The additional requirement of 160,000 construction workers applies especially to the need for the needs of Labor's Housebuilding destinations. Before the government's promise to build 1.5 million new houses, the CITB had already estimated that there would have to be a quarter of a million new workers in order to meet the country's living requirements.

Before the spring declaration in 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced investments of 600 million GBP to train up to 60,000 other qualified construction workers, and the Minister of Education Bridget Phillipson has undertaken to train and develop for the expansion of 100 million GBP.

What is the London plan?

A spokesman for the Mayor of London said Sir Sadiq Khan had made the capital's real estate crisis an “important priority for his mayor”.

In 2018, the town hall founded the Mayor's Construction Academy (MCA), a program that is intended to help Londoners acquire the skills required to start the construction industry.

The mayor's office said it hoped that the MCA would help to meet the need for more experienced construction workers in London.