City Hall said the money made from selling the land to homebuilders will be recycled to buy further land for new and affordable homes.
The proposal was in the mayor’s housing strategy, released on Wednesday last week.
Khan also outlined his idea for bringing private tenants and landlords together to develop a ‘London model’ for renting.
See below a summary of the draft housing strategy proposals:
- Starting to build 90,000 new affordable homes by 2021;
- Ensuring a better deal for private renters;
- Increasing the building of more genuinely affordable homes;
- Supporting new housing providers including community builders; and
- Helping tackle homelessness, with a way off the street for every rough sleeper.
The mayor stated he is prepared to use City Hall’s statutory powers, including compulsory purchase where necessary to secure land for the new tranche of homes.
The new land fund comes on top of the £3.15bn affordable housing budget that Khan will get from government.
Khan said: “It is shameful that a generation of young people are being priced out of the city they grew up in because of the housing crisis.”
He said it was unacceptable that he inherited a development pipeline where just 13% of homes given planning permission were affordable.
Adding: “From £250m to kick-start my plans to secure more land for new and affordable homes, to a new model and fairer deal for millions of private renters, I want to help all Londoners facing the housing crisis.
Tory London Assembly member Andrew Boff described the Khan’s housing strategy as “vague idealism”.
Boff added: “If the mayor is serious about tackling London’s housing crisis we need details to support his plans. Anyone can write a wish-list.”
