Sadiq Khan has launched a new City Hall housing delivery arm with a £100m investment into the Silvertown Partnership, a move that underlines how badly London still needs more homes as pressure on the rental market continues.
The new City Hall Developer model will see the Greater London Authority take a more direct role in backing and bringing forward development sites rather than relying only on private developers and housing associations. Around 7,000 homes are planned at Silvertown in the Royal Docks, with roughly 1,000 due to be under construction by 2028.
For landlords, the announcement matters less because of the headline funding and more because it shows public authorities are still trying to force stalled schemes forward. London’s rental market remains tight, and major regeneration projects are taking on added importance as smaller-scale supply stays patchy.
Silvertown deal shows City Hall taking a direct role
City Hall said the wider programme is backed by nearly £2bn of government funding through grants and low-interest loans. Khan described the new arm as a more interventionist model aimed at unblocking sites, speeding up development and increasing affordable housing delivery in the capital.
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said: “This is a new era for housebuilding in London, with City Hall investing directly in new homes, unblocking stalled sites and speeding up development.”
This follows Residential Landlord’s report that prime London rents rose 2.7% as lets agreed jumped in May and its recent coverage showing landlord instructions remained weak while rent expectations stayed elevated. The latest City Hall move does not change short-term rental conditions, but it does show policymakers still grappling with a supply gap that private delivery has not closed.
The announcement and Khan’s comments were reported by Property Industry Eye, citing the mayor’s new investment in Silvertown.
More homes will not fix London quickly
For investors, the main point is that even large public interventions take time. A site may be moved forward today, but that does not mean renters see meaningful relief this year or next. London landlords are still operating in a market where supply remains constrained, especially in better-connected neighbourhoods.
There is also a wider lesson in the structure of the deal. If public money is needed to push major sites forward, that says a lot about the viability problems still facing the sector after years of higher build costs, planning friction and slower sales markets.
That may support rents in the near term, but it is not a healthy way to run a housing market. Landlords benefit from persistent undersupply in the short run, yet long-term stability depends on a much stronger pipeline than London currently has.
Opinion
Khan is right to look for more direct ways to get schemes moving, because the normal delivery model has not been enough. But landlords should not confuse a £100m announcement with a near-term shift in supply. London still looks short of homes, and that is likely to keep the rental market tight for longer.
