United Kingdom

The UK faces an acute housing affordability crisis, particularly in London and the South East. Homelessness has risen significantly since 2010. Social housing waiting lists exceed 1.2 million households. The government has set ambitious targets for new builds but consistently falls short.

The UK housing market is characterised by chronic undersupply, with annual completions consistently below the 300,000 target. Average house prices remain around 8x average earnings nationally, rising to 12x+ in London. The rental sector has grown significantly, with the private rented sector housing around 19% of households.

UK Smart Cities Programme supporting digital infrastructure; Connected Places Catapult accelerating smart city innovation; Future Cities programme investing £50M+ in urban innovation; Digital Twin programme for national infrastructure; UKRI £300M urban living partnership; Smart Local Energy Systems programme