In a damning condemnation of London's former Mayor Boris Johnson , the newly-elected Sadiq Khan said he had "left the cupboards bare" when it comes to delivering affordable housing in the city.
The new Labour mayor said he "will have his work cut out" and ordered an urgent audit of City Hall’s preparedness to tackle the housing crisis, but said he was "shocked" at the scale of the challenge he now faces.
Analysis from City Hall showed the previous mayor delivered the lowest number of new affordable homes since current records began back in 1991 - just 4,880. However, Boris Johnson defended his record and said a record 100,000 were completed during two of his terms.
Mr Khan said: "One of the first things we did when we got to City Hall was open the books and look at what was already in the pipeline, and it seems the previous mayor has grossly let down Londoners by leaving the cupboard bare when it comes to delivering affordable housing."
Sadiq Khan has pledged to build new homes on land owned by City Hall, including Transport for London land, and intends to fast-track scores of sites that are suitable for development.
The Mayor also said he wants to bid to develop other public sector land across London and will work with government ministers to ensure a far more active role for City Hall in identifying public land that can be used for the construction.
“London gave me the opportunity to go from the council estate where I grew up to being able to buy a family home we could afford" said Khan.
"But today, too many Londoners are being priced out of our city.
Watch Sadiq Khan being sworn as London Mayor in at Southwark Cathedral
"I am determined to fix London’s housing crisis and ensure that all Londoners have the opportunity to rent or buy a decent home at a price they can afford, but the scale of the challenge is now clearer than ever and we’re not going to be able to turn things around overnight.
“We will be outlining our plans in the coming months, but one of the first things we can do is work with Transport for London to fast-track their numerous surplus sites for development that have previously just been sat on.
“There is no doubt we have our work cut out, but I plan to personally get to grips with the mess that has been left behind and will insist on far higher levels of affordable housing in new developments.”
