Just One Affordable Home Started in the Borough Since April

Opposition says Hounslow Council and Mayor have failed to respond to crisis

Construction of affordable homes in Hounslow borough has ground to a halt

August 16, 2025

Affordable housing starts in Hounslow have remained exceptionally low in 2025, reflecting a wider slowdown in delivery across London and England. According to recently released data from the Greater London Authority (GLA), just one affordable home began construction in Hounslow between April and July of this financial year.

Hounslow’s housing delivery has sharply declined in recent years, mirroring a broader trend across London. From a peak of 911 affordable housing starts in 2021–22, the borough recorded just one start in the first quarter of 2025–26. This collapse places Hounslow among the worst-performing boroughs in Greater London. While completions have remained relatively stable—thanks to legacy schemes—new starts have nearly ground to a halt. The borough’s 2024–25 total of 38 starts was less than a third of the London borough average, and its Q1 2025–26 figure is the lowest on record.

London, affordable housing starts fell by over 91% between 2022/23 and 2023/24, with fewer than 400 new affordable homes beginning construction in the first quarter of the current financial year. If this trajectory continues, the capital could see just 1,388 affordable housing starts by year-end—the lowest since records began. Nationally, affordable housing starts dropped by nearly 40% in 2024, and London saw an 88% fall compared to 2022. The downturn has been attributed to the conclusion of the 2016–2023 Affordable Homes Programme, rising construction and borrowing costs, reduced planning capacity, financial constraints at affordable housing providers and new legislation, designed to protect tenants, which has made renting out a property more expensive.

For Hounslow, the Labour government announced a 41% reduction in the borough’s housing target last year, despite growing demand and widespread concern over insufficient supply. The London Plan sets a benchmark that at least 35% of new housing should be affordable, but many developments across West London continue to fall short, with developers citing financial viability constraints.

Hounslow Council has acknowledged the severity of the housing crisis and outlined steps to address it. A new Local Plan has been submitted for examination, setting a strategic target of 50% affordable housing in future developments, with 70% of that designated for social rent. The plan aims to deliver 28,800 homes by 2041 and includes regeneration and infrastructure investment in areas such as the Golden Mile and West of Borough.

The Council has also launched a draft Housing Strategy for 2025–2030, which identifies five priorities: tackling homelessness and rough sleeping, ensuring safe and decent council housing, improving standards in the private-rented sector, supporting independent living, and increasing the supply of genuinely affordable homes. Councillor Sue Sampson, Cabinet Member for Housing Management and Homelessness, said that years of reduced government funding, high inflation, and rising demand have placed severe pressure on council budgets. She emphasized the importance of community input in shaping the strategy and reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to delivering housing that meets local needs.

Criticism has come from opposition figures who argued that both Hounslow Council and the Mayor of London have failed to respond adequately to the crisis.

Jack Emsley, Conservative Councillor for Chiswick Homefields, said, “Hounslow, like every other borough in our city, is facing an acute shortage of affordable homes - these latest figures show that both Hounslow Council and Sadiq Khan are failing to step up and take this issue seriously. Housing need is one of the largest single issues I deal with as a councillor, and the failure to build affordable homes in our capital is only going to exacerbate the housing crisis. Hounslow Council and Sadiq Khan talk a big game when it comes to housebuilding, but these figures show that they simply aren’t delivering.”

Hounslow Council leader, Cllr Shantanu Rajawat responded, "We have a strong record on delivering affordable housing in this borough. The last administration delivered over 5,000 homes and we're on track to meet our plan to build an additional 2,000.

"We'd be a lot further ahead if the Tories hadn't left a Liz-Truss-shaped hole in the national economy, but we've made significant strides since.

"We've just begun the demolition of Charlton House and Albany Parade, the redevelopment of which will result in dozens more affordable homes in the heart of Brentford. We've also just submitted our Local Plan to the Secretary of State, which sets out the number of homes we will build, jobs we will create, and infrastructure we will improve to support our communities.

"Our Feltham, Hounslow, Chiswick and Brentford Masterplans set out a vision for how our borough will look in 2041. We're looking to the future. Meanwhile the Tories can't agree on what they'll be moaning about next week.

"The same data shows that in the same period we completed 89 new affordable homes, which is over five and a half times the average for Tory-controlled London Councils, and 10 more than all of them combined.

"The data is clear. Labour Councils build more homes, while the Tories have no plan to deliver the homes we need.

"Nowhere in their unfunded £8.8 million budget amendments, announced last February, did they even mention the need to build new houses. Here, as in the rest of London, while the Tories talk, Labour delivers."

Elsewhere in West London, Ealing borough has also seen a dramatic collapse in affordable housing starts, with just 13 recorded in 2023/24 compared to 2,070 the previous year. Ealing Council said it remains committed to delivering affordable homes and is pursuing direct build schemes, planning obligations, and developer acquisitions to boost supply.