London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan’s Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) has missed its revised delivery targets by around a fifth (19.5%) as housebuilding across the capital continues to struggle.

In its annual Affordable Housing Monitor, the London Assembly Housing Committee revealed that the capital’s AHP between 2021 and 2026 only saw 14,335 housing starts by March 2026, falling below the minimum target of 17,800.

The numbers also fall short of London’s wider affordable housing target of 19,000 homes by nearly a quarter (24.5%). In 2024-25, London’s affordable housing stock increased by a net 8,184 homes.

Ministers allocated £4bn of funding from the AHP to London, with the programme running between 2001 and 2026. The failure to meet the target comes despite the mayor’s initial target of starting between 23,900 and 27,200 affordable homes being reduced last year by 22%.

This comes after data published by the Centre for Policy Studies in January revealed that housing starts in London fell by 72% in 2024-25, despite planning being a key focus for the Labour government over that period.

The Greater London Authority’s (GLA’s) latest assessment estimates the capital needs to deliver around 45,500 affordable homes every year to meet demand.

The monitor also reports that 43,000 affordable homes that have started across the mayor’s two affordable homes programmes are still awaiting completion. This comprises more than 32,000 homes from the 2016-23 programme and almost 12,000 from the 2021-26 programme.

Lord Bailey of Paddington AM, chairman of the Housing Committee, said: “Affordable housing delivery is still falling far short of what London needs.

“Even after targets were revised downwards, they were not met. That reflects the severe challenges facing housebuilding in London, but it also raises important questions about what must change if future programmes are to succeed.”

Nearly four in five homes started under the programme were for social rent. Council housing starts increased to 3,865 starts in 2025-26, up from 1,328 in 2024-25.

A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “Tackling our urgent housing crisis is one of the mayor’s top priorities and he is doing everything he can to deliver more homes of all tenures. Sadiq has been warning for some time that the impact of Brexit, the pandemic, high interest rates and the economic shocks caused by global instability mean that we are amid the most difficult period for housebuilding since the global financial crash.

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“The mayor is backing housing associations and councils with a record £11.7bn London Social and Affordable Homes Programme over the next decade. The new City Hall Developer Investment Fund adds £322m in grants and £1.5bn in ultra-low-interest loans for housing associations, unblocking stalled sites and speeding up affordable and social housing across the capital. There are new powers for City Hall to review and call in housing schemes, and stronger powers to deliver Mayoral Development Orders.

“New measures will continue to ramp up housebuilding in London and bring forward thousands of homes more quickly, as we build a better London for everyone.”