London councils sue Mayor Sadiq Khan over affordable housing quota cut

Seven London boroughs – Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Lewisham and, with backing from Lambeth, Southwark, Waltham Forest and Haringey – have filed a High Court judicial review challenging Mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to lower the affordable‑housing requirement for new developments from 35 % to 20 %. The councils argue the change was made without the statutory process required to amend the London Plan and without adequate consultation, and that it will worsen a housing crisis already marked by decade‑high waiting lists and rising homelessness.

Council leaders say the policy threatens thousands of households. Lutfur Rahman, mayor of Tower Hamlets, warned: “It is a scandal to cut the affordable housing quota when the need for genuinely affordable homes has never been greater.” Hackney’s mayor Zoë Garbett added that “our goal is simple: a Hackney our communities can afford to stay in,” and condemned the cuts as “undermining the progress Hackney residents desperately need.”

The legal challenge follows a 2025 agreement between the national government and City Hall that introduced the quota reduction as an “emergency measure” to boost housebuilding. Critics say the move benefits developers while leaving more Londoners facing overcrowded or temporary accommodation.