Southwark Council has approved a planning document which sets out new requirements for affordable housing at a meeting last week.
All developers will now have to provide a minimum of 35% affordable housing, including student accommodation and sites where smaller numbers of houses are being built.
Previously only residential developments containing ten or more houses had to contain 35% affordable housing.
A new fast-track process for developments delivering 40 per cent or more social rented and intermediate rent homes is also being introduced.
“The new policies and area visions are designed to make Southwark a fairer place to live and work,” said Cllr Helen Dennis, cabinet member for climate emergency and sustainable development. “We are particularly proud that our plan sets firm requirements on developers to build truly affordable homes, including new social rent homes.”
“We have also laid out clear expectations around more affordable workspace to support small businesses and the local economy within the borough,” she added.
At present there is no universally agreed definition of affordable housing. However, the government says affordable homes should cost no more than 80% of average local rent.
The changes were announced in the Southwark Plan, which outlines the council’s development policy over the next fifteen years.
There are more than 20,000 people currently on the housing register in Southwark. These are individuals and families who need to live in social housing.
But would that help all the family that are in temporary accommodation, because the council have to put all them family first because as the council rehouse the family who been waiting a long time ,there going to be another 1000 family who would need to be rehouse regardless if they are born here or if its family’s from another country, I blame the government for allowing southwark and lewisham to sell there property knowing down the line this was going g to happen ,and I don’t understand if a member of the family want to move out the property and they name on the paper work and Southwark Council know there other family members that live with them ,to make them homeless knowing that ,southwark Council are got to put them in temporary accommodation why not let the other members stay in that property if there willing to pay the rent and not cause upset if the other members of the family as a child with a disability that’s not right ,I think southwark and lewisham need to rethink how they rehouse family’s with out upsetting other members of the family ,because they way they do the rehousing is unfair to the family that been waiting a long time ,I’ve been on the housing list for 13years and because the council knew I was living with my child with my mum they said I had a place to stay ,but what about if the relationship broke down or your mum say to you am moving so you got to find somewhere to live and the counknow you been bidding all that time but wouldn’t give you a place because your not homeless or you ain’t guy that’s bad