New Online Portal to Assist Londoners in Finding an Affordable Home to Buy

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, has recently decided to launch an online portal, providing the citizens of London with a one-stop shop where they can search for and access affordable homes to buy in the capital.

This official platform has already listed over 1,400 shared ownership and 230 Help to Buy properties. The predominant aim of the platform is to assist Londoners who are unable to afford to buy a property on the open market. All homes will be funded through City Hall affordable housing programmes. New properties intend to be continually added.

The Mayor is strongly encouraging Londoners to sign up to london.gov.uk/homes   where they can register an account. The account will allow them to receive emails and alerts in the local area, register their preferences and interests in homes, check their eligibility as well as book viewings.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Here at City Hall, we’re doing everything we can to make sure all Londoners are able to buy a good-quality, affordable place to live in the city to call home. The Homes for Londoners website is a fantastic one-stop shop, bringing together affordable homes into one place for people who would struggle to buy in the open market. More and more homes will be added to the portal, so I urge Londoners to get online, set up a free account, and start browsing.”

In 2017, the Mayor’s Homes for Londoners Programme witnessed 12,526 affordable properties started. This was more than in any year since City Hall took ownership of the housing investment. Half of these homes were claimed to be affordable homeownership, alongside 2,826 brand new homes based on social rent levels.

Further plans for the platform later this year will be launched, including below-market rental properties being made available This portal is accessible on the Mayor’s website alongside his online Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker – a publicly accessible tool, enabling London’s 2.4 million tenants to make sure that their prospective landlord or agent has been previously convicted of any housing offences.

If any suspicions do arise, Londoners are urged to report this to their local council.