The housing crisis in London needs little introduction. One in 50 Londoners are homeless and living in temporary accommodation organised by their local borough. More than 336,000 households languish on waiting lists for social housing in the capital. Many of London’s 2.7 million private renters face spiralling rents they can barely afford. Young people in our communities find themselves priced out of the places they call home.

London is struggling – but Liberal Democrat boroughs are determined to tackle this crisis.

Housing is about creating sustainable communities, improving lives, and ensuring that local people can continue to live in the areas they know and love. Affordable, high-quality housing brings immense individual and social benefits. Housing policy cuts across the other major challenges of our era, including the state of the economy and the need to address the climate crisis.

If it doesn’t sound too grandiose, I’d suggest housing policy is one of the fundamental building blocks upon which liberal democracy rests.

With pressures in London and elsewhere so extreme, the need for more social and genuinely affordable housing has never been greater. At a national level, the Liberal Democrats are pushing for crucial policy changes to make this happen. Proposed legislation focusing on boosting the number of social homes by 150,000 annually and giving councils control over Right to Buy rules and receipts shows we recognise the scale of the crisis and the solutions required.

At a local level in London, the Liberal Democrat boroughs of Kingston, Richmond, and Sutton are getting on with the job of building homes.

In Richmond – the borough I have the honour to lead – we have placed affordability at the centre of local policy.  For example, the Ham Close regeneration programme will deliver 452 new homes, replace outdated housing while providing additional affordable homes and modern community facilities.

Importantly, the project ensures there is no net loss of affordable housing, a promise that is too often absent from regeneration schemes elsewhere. Alongside new homes, residents will benefit from improved public spaces, a new community hub and dedicated facilities for local groups.

Richmond has also pursued innovative approaches beyond new-build development. Through our property acquisition programme, the council has delivered 50 homes to provide temporary accommodation for residents facing homelessness or housing insecurity. By purchasing properties directly, the council is reducing reliance on costly emergency accommodation while helping families remain within the borough.

These efforts sit within a wider pipeline of affordable housing delivery. Richmond has highlighted more than 250 affordable homes that have either begun construction recently or are expected to start on site in the coming years. In a borough where land values and development pressures can make affordable housing particularly difficult to secure, that commitment matters.

Over in Kingston, our Liberal Democrat colleagues are overseeing the regeneration of the Cambridge Road Estate, one of the most ambitious council-led housing projects in outer London. Residents voted overwhelmingly in favour of regeneration, and the scheme will eventually deliver more than 2,000 homes, including over 1,100 affordable homes and nearly 1,000 council-rented properties. The first families have already begun moving into newly built council homes, marking a significant milestone in a project that will transform a neighbourhood for generations.

What makes Cambridge Road particularly notable is its scale and long-term vision. Rather than simply replacing existing homes, Kingston is creating an entirely new community, complete with improved green spaces, community facilities, training opportunities and safer, more sustainable housing. At a time when many councils have struggled to bring forward large-scale housing schemes, Kingston demonstrates that local authorities can still play a leading role in delivering social housing at scale.

Meanwhile recent figures show Sutton led London for new social-rent housing starts during part of 2025, with 220 new social homes beginning construction over a six-month period. For a borough of its size, that is a remarkable achievement. It reflects years of political commitment to expanding the supply of council housing, often through direct council development rather than relying solely on private-sector contributions.

Sutton has supplemented this approach by securing additional government funding to support the delivery of dozens of new council homes and by advancing major regeneration schemes that will significantly increase the borough’s affordable housing stock. Projects such as Elm Grove will replace ageing housing with modern, energy-efficient homes while ensuring that affordability remains central to redevelopment plans.

Equally important is Sutton’s focus on quality. Building more homes is essential, but the homes being built must be safe, sustainable and fit for the future. The borough’s strong performance in social housing management demonstrates that delivering homes and managing them well should go hand in hand.

London still needs far more social homes than any individual borough can provide. National government must play its part by delivering long-term funding certainty, reforming housing finance, and empowering councils to build at greater scale.

But if the question is whether Liberal Democrat councils can deliver more social housing, the evidence is increasingly clear. From the thousands of homes planned in Kingston, to the regeneration of Ham Close in Richmond, to Sutton’s record of council housebuilding, Liberal Democrat local government is proving that ambition can be matched with action.

For Londoners struggling to find a secure and affordable home, that is exactly the kind of leadership the city needs.

‘London needs more social homes – can Liberal Democrat councils deliver?’  – London Councils’ event at Liberal Democrat party conference will take place at 12.15pm on Monday 21 September at The Grand Hotel, Brighton

* Cllr Gareth Roberts is Leader of Richmond Council, a London Assembly Member, and Vice Chair of London Councils