Main London mayoral candidates pledge 'Londoners first' housing policy

Labour candidate Sadiq Khan said that he would ensure new homes are offered to Londoners first, and that he would "stand up to developers" who market their properties at foreign investors.

He proposed amending the London plan to guarantee that there is a set period of time where properties are marketed only to Londoners.

Khan questioned the affordability of the starter homes policy and said that he would set an affordable housing target at 50%, a policy that the current London mayor Boris Johnson changed when taking office in 2008. Johnson had argued that the 50% target made many planned developments unviable and led to less housing development.

The Labour candidate has also pledged to freeze transport fares for four years, costing £450 million. However, Conservative Party candidate Zac Goldsmith claimed this would cost £2billion and would have a negative impact on housing growth in the capital. Goldsmith said that investment and extensions in the transport infrastructure can facilitate the development of thousands of new homes.

Like Khan, Goldsmith would ensure Londoners are offered new homes as a priority and would extend the period of time that homes have to be marketed at Londoners.

The Conservative candidate proposed making development on brownfield land the focus of his housing policy. Goldsmith argued that this would "close the gap between supply and demand." To reduce local opposition, Goldsmith proposed putting local communities "in the driving seat" when discussing the design of developments.

Liberal Democrat Party candidate Caroline Pidgeon proposed introducing a housing levy that would raise £50-60m and that she would set up a building company and construction academy to accelerate the construction of homes and assist with any problems.

All candidates agreed a target of delivering 50,000 new homes a year and opposed building on the green belt.

Planning expert Susanne Andreasen of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com said: "The promise by two mayoral candidates to ensure new homes are offered to Londoners first reflects the commitment voluntarily made by a range of developers under the mayoral concordat launched by Boris Johnson in 2014. Signatories to the concordat pledge to make homes on their developments available for sale to Londoners before, or at the same time, as they are available to buyers from other countries."

"Khan's intention to amend the London Plan follows on from his recent attempt to introduce legislative measures to give local people first priority when new homes are marketed. He had tabled an amendment to the Housing and Planning Bill which was eventually turned down," Andreasen said.