Even those of us already familiar with the extent of London’s housing crisis have been shocked by figures released in recent weeks highlighting the scale of the challenge.
Fewer than 1,000 new homes were registered in the capital in three months to June according to the National House Building Council, down by more than half on the same period last year. That follows no new housing starts taking place in 23 out of 32 London boroughs in the first quarter of 2025.
These figures follow the setting of a revised 88,000 new homes a year target for London by central government. Ministers have rightly prioritised planning reform and improved funding for affordable homes, but their vital interventions are yet to translate into shovels getting into the ground more quickly.
That is because although revamped legislation and direct funding are a must for accelerating housebuilding, a creaking regulatory system that is causing significant delays and confusion is another key issue holding back developers.
The Building Safety Regulator was established in 2022 following the Grenfell tragedy, a move wholeheartedly welcomed by the industry. No developer wants to build an unsafe home. It quickly established a “gateway” approval process for any residential project more than 18 metres or seven storeys high, consisting of three stages. The first relates to obtaining planning consent, the second to starting work on site, and the third to approving full completion.
Unfortunately, this approach rapidly ran into several problems which have been allowed to fester, meaning the gateway process is now one of the biggest blockers of new development across the city.
The absence of fully rubber-stamped guidance around what information homebuilders must provide to make it through the process has been a problem from day one. The result has been many applications for approval being delayed way beyond the BSR’s self-imposed 12-week deadline for decisions – stretching into months and even years – or simply rejected.
The BSR says delays have been caused by poor quality applications, but developers highlight the lack of formal guidance about how to navigate this arcane process. The Construction Leadership Council has now stepped-in to provide guidance in this area with input from the BSR. Their efforts are very welcome but will take time to bed in.
Another big difficulty is insufficient provision of resources. Even if all applications received by the BSR were of the standard it is seeking, the regulator lacks the capacity to turn around large volumes of complex approval requests efficiently. Before an application is considered, the BSR assembles a unique “multi-disciplinary team” to assess it. Just bringing together one of those teams, which draw on external building, fire and safety experts, can take weeks. As such, delays to the decision-making process have been inevitable.
The government has now promised to increase funding for the BSR, shake up its leadership and bolster in-house expertise. It’s another welcome move, but will take time to yield results. And time is of the essence: close to 30,000 homes are currently stuck at the second stage of the gateway process.
That logjam is a particular concern for the capital, where building at density is the only way to solve our housing crisis. The risk, already in part reality, is that developers that would have delivered 18 metre or above projects decide not to do so, further slowing down the supply of desperately needed homes. Urgent action is needed now. That’s why we at BusinessLDN are calling for a three-step process to accelerate decision-making and housing delivery.
The first relates to engagement, specifically prior to applications formally entering the gateway process. To date, the BSR has not entered into conversations with developers prior to submissions, an approach that has served to widen an existing information gap. That needs to change.
The second centres on getting shovels in the ground. With so many homes stuck in the works there’s a clear case for allowing foundations to be laid at sites whilst non-crucial elements of delivery plans are finalised. The BSR must take a pragmatic approach and allow more applications to be “approved with requirements”, ensuring that non-essential design aspects do not stand in the way of progress.
Thirdly, the legislation that sits behind the BSR, and the way it is being interpreted, is not fit for purpose. A thorough review of the Building Safety Act should be undertaken, potentially with a view to mandating improved engagement by the BSR, establishing greater scrutiny of turnaround times for applications, or expanding its remit to include housing delivery.
Developers across London stand ready to provide thousands of new homes that meet the highest safety standards. Only if the BSR’s gateways are unlocked can they can deliver.
Stephanie Pollitt is programme director for housing at BusinessLDN.
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