London will spend $32M on affordable tiny apartments

It’s no secret that the U.K. has a housing problem—traditional home construction is simply insufficient to meet demand. But London’s housing-conscious mayor, Sadiq Khan, is tackling the issue head-on, with a new investment of more than £25 million ( $32 million) to finance the construction of high-density, compact apartments. The money is being pumped into Pocket Living, a developer specializing in 400-square-foot modular apartments that rent for roughly 20 percent below market rate.

At least 1,059 homes will be built for first-time buyers with low incomes by March 2021, and the apartments will be required to remain affordable in perpetuity. The mayor’s cash infusion will be used to finance the purchase of small brownfield sites in London that will be developed into housing, and the money will be paid back in full by 2030.

“The housing crisis is the biggest challenge facing Londoners today and I have been honest from the start that we won’t be able to turn things round overnight,” said mayor Sadiq Khan. “I am working with Pocket Living to build more than a thousand homes for first-time buyers, using the latest off-site construction techniques to provide attractive and affordable homes as quickly as possible.”

Via: Global Construction Review