LONDON Mayor Sadiq Khan warned today that London’s housing crisis is dragging the economy down as he called for a significant increase in investment to build more affordable and social homes.

He also called for the creation of a devolved City Hall Developer Investment Fund after City Hall research found that a 1 per cent increase in housing affordability could boost the capital’s economy by £7.3 billion over a 10-year period.

He backed the easing of constraints on local government to borrow to build — including providing certainty on Public Works Loan Board loans, which offer low-rate, long-term loans to councils — at the Centre for London’s annual conference.