Study warns of 'housing crisis'

London is facing a social housing crisis as more than one in 10 people living in the city are waiting to be allocated property, a study has found.

Research by the National Housing Federation revealed the number of people waiting for social housing rose 47% to 333,857, between 2002 and 2007.

About 750,000 people are forced to live in overcrowded homes, the study found.

The report comes as London's mayor looked to scrap his own 50% London-wide affordable housing target.

The National Housing Federation, which represents 350 housing associations in London, found that in 2007 15,400 households were declared homeless and another 56,740 were living in temporary accommodation.

RISE IN WAITING LISTS Barking and Dagenham: 2,668 (in 2002) - 9,185 (in 2007) - up 244% Havering: 1,888 - 5,480 - up 190% Barnet: 7,030 - 17,909 - up 155% Sutton: 1,653 - 4,121, up 149% Ealing: 8,289 - 20,653 - up 149% Wandsworth: 3,923 - up 8,695 - 122% Westminster: 3,709 - up 8,018 - 116% City of London: 623 - up 1,344 - 115% Redbridge: 5,671 - up 11,402 - 101% Tower Hamlets: 7,837 - 13,978 - up 78%

The list which saw the biggest increase was in Barking and Dagenham, east London, which had gone up by 244% since 2002, to 9,185 households.

Just four of London's 33 boroughs registered a significant increase in new social housing.

The report noted only 11,471 new social homes were being built each year, which fell well short of London Mayor Boris Johnson's target.

Belinda Porich, Head of the National Housing Federation London, said even a 30% increase in the number of social homes would fall short of what is needed.

"It's absolutely vital that we hit the mayor of London's target of 50,000 new social homes in London by 2011," she said.

But mayor Boris Johnson has said he is looking to remove the 50% London-wide affordable housing target, which was a key manifesto pledge.

Instead the Greater London Authority will negotiate with individual boroughs to agree individual targets to deliver 50,000 affordable homes across the city.

"The current policy of imposing an inflexible London-wide target clearly does not work and in these exceptionally tough times it is imperative that we make the right investments now to provide the homes that Londoners need," the mayor said.