Developers are increasingly turning away from traditional leasehold flats in London and opting for build-to-rent, co-living and student housing schemes as buyer demand weakens, the London Assembly has been told.
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Assembly → turn → schemes
Housing experts told a City Hall committee that a combination of soaring property prices, rising service charges and ongoing concerns over building safety has left parts of the capital's leasehold market struggling.
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combination → tell → market
Luke Ward, Barnet Council's director for housing, economy and placemaking, said developers were responding by shifting towards alternative forms of housing that do not rely on individual flat sales.
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that → say → sales
Speaking to the London Assembly Housing Committee, Mr Ward said housing schemes that would once have been sold as leasehold developments are increasingly being delivered under different ownership models.
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that → speak → models
"Five or six years ago there would have been lots of leasehold flats," he said.
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he → say → flats
"
Developments that previously would have been marketed to owner-occupiers are instead becoming build-to-rent blocks, co-living developments, student accommodation, housing for older people or affordable housing schemes, he added.
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he → market → people
The shift comes despite continued demand for homes in the capital.
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shift → come → capital
More than a third of London's housing stock is leasehold, with Londoners more than twice as likely as people elsewhere in England to own a leasehold property.
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Londoners → own → property
Last year a London Assembly report found households in the capital were paying average service charges of £3,912 a year, prompting calls for tighter regulation.
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households → find → regulation
The Government has pledged to abolish leasehold for new developments, but ministers have warned the transition will take time.
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transition → pledge → time
Mr Ward said affordability remained the biggest obstacle for buyers, with London continuing to have the highest house price-to-earnings ratio in the country.
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London → say → country
He also pointed to "reputational challenges" surrounding leasehold flats, including concerns about cladding remediation and rising service charges.
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He → point → remediation
Campaigners argued the evidence showed a market under severe strain.
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evidence → argue → strain
Harry Scoffin, founder of campaign group Free Leaseholders, said the committee hearing amounted to an admission that the leasehold flat market had "collapsed".
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market → say → admission
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He claimed growing reliance on build-to-rent developments risked creating more long-term tenants rather than helping Londoners onto the property ladder.
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reliance → read → ladder
The warning comes as the capital continues to struggle to deliver enough new homes.
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capital → come → homes
Neil Davis, development delivery director at housing association L&Q, told the committee that building costs had "never been higher", citing inflation, higher borrowing costs, supply chain pressures and a shortage of construction workers.
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costs → tell → workers
Those pressures have contributed to London's worsening housing shortfall, particularly in the affordable sector.
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pressures → contribute → sector
Under the Mayor's Affordable Homes Programme, City Hall had delivered 14,335 affordable housing starts by March against a reduced target of 17,800.
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Hall → deliver → 17,800
Meanwhile, new analysis from think tank Centre for Cities warned London could fall further behind other parts of England in tackling housing waiting lists.
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London → warn → lists
The organisation said current government funding plans would result in enough affordable homes being built to meet just 18 per cent of London's priority housing need by 2036, compared with 46 per cent in rural areas.
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homes → say → areas
Its researchers called for a larger share of affordable housing funding to be directed towards the capital, arguing that London's housing pressures remain the most acute in the country.
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pressures → call → country
The Aporia
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