Islington Affordable Housing Policy
Islington Council’s Affordable Housing Policy, CS12 (Part G), sets out the thresholds and expected contributions. Across the entire borough, there is an overall target that 50% of all new housing shall be affordable.
Like many councils in London, Islington’s Affordable Housing Policy is very strict and can make a development unviable.
For larger developments, of 10 or more units, the Council require an affordable housing contribution of 50%. This is usually required to be on-site and only in exceptional circumstances would an off-site financial contribution be accepted for larger developments.
For smaller developments, Islington requires a financial contribution which can be either £50,000 or £60,000 per unit!
However, affordable housing is required subject to viability. That means that if a development is agreed to be unviable, it will not need to provide a contribution. Therefore, if you believe that Policy CS12 (G) is making your development unviable, you might consider submitting a Viability Assessment with your application.
A Viability Assessment will fully evaluate the values and costs associated with your scheme to understand whether any developer contributions, including affordable housing, should be provided. If you would like assistance with an assessment, please feel free to get in touch, and we would be more than happy to help!