London remains one of the globe's most costly cities to reside in, with a stark 2025 study from Trust For London revealing that renters in the capital are dedicating a staggering 52% of their pre-tax income to secure a one-bedroom home. This financial strain leaves countless individuals, even those on seemingly reasonable salaries, struggling to make ends meet each month.
Mayor's Initiative to Support Essential Workers
The city relies heavily on residents across a broad wage spectrum, particularly essential professionals such as teachers, doctors, nurses, and carers. Recognising this, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has prioritised protecting these key workers. During his successful 2024 re-election campaign, Khan pledged to initiate the construction of at least 6,000 rent-controlled homes specifically for key workers by 2030. He has now unveiled further details on how this ambitious plan will be implemented.
Substantial Financial Relief on Offer
The newly proposed homes will be leased at rents calculated to represent approximately 40% of the average key worker's income. The potential savings are considerable: tenants in a two-bedroom property could retain an extra £7,000 per year, while those in a one-bedroom home might save nearly £4,500 annually. This initiative represents a significant financial reprieve for a group that constitutes roughly one-third of London's working population.
Previous research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies highlighted that key workers' salaries are, on average, 8% lower than those in other sectors. Compounding this, a November 2025 SpareRoom study indicated that an individual earning the National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour would need to work 63 hours weekly to keep rent payments within the recommended affordability threshold of 30% of their income. Even those earning the voluntary London Living Wage of £14.80 would require around 52 hours of work each week just to cover rental costs.
Enhanced Accessibility and Funding
The policy is designed to be inclusive, offering rental options for workers seeking house shares who may find solo affordability challenging. It is also positioned as more accessible than other affordable housing models, such as shared ownership, as it eliminates the need for a deposit towards a mortgage. The scheme is financed through the government-backed Affordable Homes Programme, which has already secured £11.7 billion in investment.
Mayor Khan is now calling on investors to contribute financially. Construction firm Bouygues UK has submitted a planning application for 142 key worker homes in Bermondsey, and housing provider Dolphin Living has expressed support for the scheme.
Mixed Reactions from Stakeholders
In a statement, Mayor Sadiq Khan emphasised the critical role of key workers: ‘Key workers, including teachers, nurses and bus drivers, play a critical role in keeping our city moving... It is only right that these hardworking Londoners can afford to live in a decent, safe home in the city they are serving.’ He described the 'Key Worker Living Rent' scheme as an innovative step to help NHS staff, police, firefighters, and others access thousands of affordable long-term rental homes.
Ben Twomey, Chief Executive of Generation Rent, acknowledged that soaring rents have cemented London's status as Europe's most expensive place to live. He praised key workers as the ‘backbone’ of the community and supported the Mayor's exploration of new methods to shield them from exorbitant rents, calling rent control a positive initial move towards fairness for all London renters.
However, the scheme has faced criticism. Lord Bailey AM, the City Hall Conservative housing spokesperson, argued: ‘This isn’t a serious plan to help families and key workers but rather a distraction from the real failure: an 84% collapse in housebuilding under his watch... London needs more homes, built faster, with the right mix of genuinely affordable housing.’
Existing Support Schemes for Key Workers
While Mayor Khan's plan marks a significant advancement, it is not the sole initiative aiding key workers. Housing associations like A2Dominion run schemes for NHS clinical staff (excluding doctors and dentists) earning under £60,000 annually. Organisations such as Local Space and Peabody offer discounted rents to St. Barts NHS Trust employees and teachers with incomes between £20,000 and £80,000.
Locally, Brent Council provides one-bedroom flats at £1,120 and two-bedroom properties at £1,194 per month. This stands in stark contrast to the London Assembly's December 2025 finding that the average private rental price in the capital was £1,927 monthly—almost double Brent's reduced rate.
The 'Key Worker Living Rent' scheme represents a pivotal effort to address housing affordability for London's essential workforce, though its long-term success and impact remain subjects of ongoing debate and scrutiny.
