London mayor Sadiq Khan launches 'S'pore-style' housing approach to build 'affordable homes'

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a new housing model for the British capital inspired by Singapore's.

Under the "Singapore style" initiative, City Hall, headquarters of the Greater London Authority (GLA), became a direct partner in developing new homes for the first time, BBC reported.

The model is "inspired by the way new homes are built in Singapore, where the state plays a central role in housing delivery", according to a press release from the London government.

Learning from Singapore

Khan was in town to attend the 2026 World Cities Summit from Jun. 14 to 16, where London was officially conferred the 2026 Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Laureate.

During his visit, he took a tour of SkyResidence @ Dawson, as captured in a Facebook video.

"What can London learn from Singapore when it comes to building genuinely affordable homes?" Khan asked in the opening of the video.

He highlighted the sense of community he saw, the local residents he spoke to, and the proximity of playgrounds and general practitioner (GP) clinics to the estates.

They reminded him of his council estate in South London, he said.

"I've been incredibly impressed by the role the state has in housing development," he said about Singapore, as quoted by BBC.

"The number of homes that are built here on an annual basis by the government getting involved in development. I think we can learn in London."

A more active role

Khan believes that more active involvement from London's City Hall will help unlock stalled developments and boost the supply of affordable housing.

The GLA will invest £100 million (S$172 million) to support plans for building 7,000 new homes in east London.

About 30 per cent of these homes will be "genuinely affordable", Khan added.

This active approach marks a new era for housebuilding in London that takes inspiration from "Singapore’s world-class housing model", the caption reads.

Caution

However, some experts have cautioned that Singapore's success is built on conditions that do not exist in London, according to BBC.

A property economist cited by BBC said that Singapore can effectively control and manage the housing market because of its consistency of governance and policy, and because the government owns around 90 per cent of the land.

Sadiq acknowledged the differences between the two cities.

He argued that the initiative meant for London to take inspiration from Singapore rather than attempting to replicate its model entirely.

"What we've done is we've learnt from the best and tweaked it to give it a London twist," he said.