The number of households on the social housing waitlist in London has increased by 30% in the past 10 years, data from the London Assembly shows.
As of December 2025 there were 341,421 households on the waitlist across London, compared to 263,493 a decade prior.
The increase of households on the social housing waitlist in London is four times higher than the 7% increase across the whole of England.
This wait has had knock-on effects and has left many families that are waiting for social housing moving around temporary accommodation.
Mairi MacRae, Director of Campaigns and Policy at Shelter said: “The severe lack of social rent homes in London has left families languishing on waiting lists for years on end.”
London’s neighbouring area of the South West saw an increase of 9.4% and the South East has seen a 34% decrease in the number of households waiting for social housing.
There are however major discrepancies across boroughs, with some whose waitlist has grown exponentially.
Brent for example saw a rise of just under 880% in the number of households on the social housing waitlist, meaning the number is almost ten times the size as in 2015.
Other boroughs also saw huge increases such as Hammersmith and Fulham which quadrupled, Harrow 178% and Wandsworth 181%.
Some however have managed to decrease the amount of households waiting, such as Kingston upon Thames which decreased the numbers by three-quarters.
Barking and Dagenham also saw an almost 70% decline, Bexley 64% and Camden 66%.
What has the effect been?
Suzanne Muna, Secretary and Cofounder of Social Housing Action Campaign said: “If families are having to move around from one temporary accommodation to another, it’s hugely disruptive to people’s lives.
“The inability to plan causes a lot of anxiety to people and puts people under a lot of pressure.“
This also had knock on effects, as the cost pressure of housing people in temporary accommodation for the local government is high.
The Local Government Association found that in 2017/18, councils across England spent almost £1.5bn more on temporary accommodation than they have been reimbursed through subsidies from the central government and predicted that without intervention the cost could grow to £4bn.
Muna said: “They’re housing people in these extremely inflated rental properties with extremely inflated rents, rather than actually housing them permanently and giving them a level of security.”
What has caused such an increase in demand compared to provision in social housing?
Both MacRae and Muna pointed towards the effects of rising cost-of-living across the city as well as the lack of enough new social housing being built or made available by local councils.
MacRae said: “For decades, successive governments have failed to build enough genuinely affordable social homes, while rents in the capital have rocketed to levels families simply cannot afford.”
Average rents in London have increased by more than 40% in the past 10 years according to ONS data.
However there is not necessarily a direct correlation between the sharpest increase in rent and highest rise in households on the social housing waitlist per borough.
Brent, the borough with the highest increase of households on social housing waitlists saw an average of 30.5% increase in rent prices over the past 10 years, although this has surged in recent years.
This is lower than the London average which sits at 40% but is no doubt a large increase in living costs across all boroughs.
Other areas where rent increases have been sharper over the past ten years such as Bexley which saw the highest increase in average rents over the past decade at just under 60% actually saw a 64% decrease in numbers on the social housing waitlist.
But general issues with affordability is a key driver, rent being one of them is in part the cause for increased need for social housing particularly for families.
Muna said: “We do know that tenants and residents right across London are obviously really feeling the swings both from rents but also from service charges.”
What are the solutions?
Both MacRae and Muna discussed the need for more homes needing to be built and the importance of affordability in social rented homes.
MacRae said: “The only way to get people off waiting lists and out of grotty temporary accommodation is by building more social rent homes.
“The government must support councils to get building and ramp up to 90,000 a year for ten years across England. This is what’s needed to end homelessness for good.”
For Muna building is important to the solution too, but thinks a new approach to delivering the homes is needed.
She criticised the public-private partnership model of development.
She said: “The solution has to be to build and invest properly in council housing, but ideologically, this isn’t where this government wants to go. What they’ve done is essentially force councils to partner with either private developers or housing associations who are private developers after all.
“I’ve been a housing campaigner for about 10 years now and I have yet to see a single regeneration project, or estate development project, where the number of socially rented homes that were promised by the developers were actually delivered. They are always cut.”
Figures do not include those already in social housing waiting for a transfer.
An MHCLG spokesperson said: “We’re cutting waiting lists by building the homes we need in London and across the country, with a record £39 billion investment in social and affordable housing.
“This is alongside the Social Housing Bill which has been introduced to Parliament and will change the Right to Buy scheme so that councils can keep hold of desperately needed homes.”
Feature image Credit: Stephen Richards
Join the discussion