Affordability, policy and community in London housing
Office-to-residential conversions are being presented as a fast route to new London homes. Our audit of recent schemes finds a more complicated picture: compact units, thin community infrastructure and a gap between planning promises and residents' experience.
Service charges, insurance and major-works demands are testing household budgets long after completion. This practical guide explains how London leaseholders can read a budget, question a Section 20 notice and take a disputed charge to the tribunal.
Higher construction costs, planning delays and a tighter grant settlement have put London's community land trusts under real pressure in 2026. We profile three approaches — urban infill, estate redevelopment and outer-London self-build — and assess what their finances and governance mean for affordability and local control.
Developers in 2026 are still selling 'affordable' homes to households that cannot afford them. This audit compares advertised rents and sale prices with borough median incomes and social rent benchmarks, examines three adverts that fail the test, and offers readers a practical checklist for interrogating the claim before they sign anything.