The London Assembly is urging the London Mayor, Sadiq Kahn, to carry out a review of the London Living Rent to ensure women in London can afford to live in decent homes within the capital and to reduce inequalities associated with the gender pay gap.

One of the Mayor’s affordable housing products is London Living Rent, where rent is based on a third of average local household incomes and adjusted for the number of bedrooms in each home.

The London Assembly Housing Committee met in July 2022 where they heard real-life experiences from women in London and the challenges they face with housing costs.

At the meeting, there was a discussion about whether rent policy for London Living Rent could take account of the gender pay gap. Women earning the women’s median wage need to spend 63% of their earnings to afford the median private rent in London, compared to men needing to spend 49% of their earnings.

The Committee has today published its report Women and housing: a gap in the market with 13 recommendations for the Mayor and Government to reduce inequalities in housing for women in London. The recommendations include:

• The Mayor should review London Living Rent and consider changes to the rent setting policy to have regard to the gender pay gap, for example whether some rents could be set at median women’s incomes rather than general median incomes.
• The Mayor should expedite plans to deliver his manifesto commitment to launch a cross-sector policy forum to coordinate efforts to advance gender equality.
• The Mayor should work with local authorities to deliver support to women in need of housing, such as tenancy guarantees and help finding longer term housing. He should support local authorities to develop clear and detailed communications to women on housing waiting lists who are being discharged into the Private Rented Sector.
• The government should: a) respond to the findings from the Mayor’s cost-benefit analysis of removing the ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ policy; b) state whether the policy is to be continued; and c) if the policy is to be continued, explain the justifications for its continuation.

Sem Moema AM, chair of the Housing Committee, said: “Improving the quality of housing for Londoners is rightly a key priority for the Mayor and there are opportunities for him to begin to level the playing field for women.

“The London Plan’s explanation of affordable housing states that annual costs housing costs should be no greater than 40% of net household income.

“Research shows that women are currently, on average, having to spend 63% of their earnings on housing, and this simply is not sustainable.

“The gender pay gap causes significant challenges to women in London. We firmly believe that if the Mayor takes the appropriate steps, through our recommendations, there could be a significant improvement in women having the opportunity to rent or own their own home in London.”