Homes England could get powers in London as government intervenes

A source said: “This legislation is about ensuring government is able to design effective policy with the greatest opportunity for it to be successfully delivered.”

Further details have not been disclosed, but DLUHC said it will legislate “when parliamentary time allows”.

The news comes amid a fierce battle between Mr Khan and housing secretary Michael Gove over the rate of homes being delivered in London. 

Earlier this week, a DLUHC-commissioned review of the mayor’s London Plan concluded it was working to “frustrate rather than facilitate the delivery of new homes”. A letter by Mr Gove sent to Mr Khan said housing delivery had been “consistently poor”. 

Mr Khan branded the review as a “stunt”.

In response to the government’s latest plans, a spokesperson for the mayor said: “Sadiq’s record of delivery in London is clear: successfully meeting the government’s flagship Affordable Homes Programme target, which still hasn’t been met outside of London, and boosting council homebuilding to twice the level of the rest of the country combined.

“The GLA already works closely with Homes England where this benefits Londoners and will continue to do so, while making the case for the self-evident benefits of devolution on housing delivery.”

Meanwhile, DLUHC has also announced £50m of funding to help housing estate regeneration projects in London. 

The funds will be made available over the next two years to “existing estate regeneration schemes that carry the support of local communities”, DLUHC said.

It is understood that details of how housing associations and councils can access the funding will be announced in “due course”. No more details on the plans were disclosed. 

Estate regeneration has proved controversial in the capital, with a reported 161 sites bulldozed in the past 25 years.

Critics have referred to the so-called regeneration of estates as “social cleansing”, as in some cases the number of social rent homes had been reduced on new developments. 

A London Assembly committee report, published last week, said demolition of housing estates should also be discouraged for environmental reasons. 

As part of other moves to increase homes in London, DLUHC announced that it is committing £4m to establish a ‘Euston Housing Delivery Group’ to explore regeneration opportunities in the area.