Property development in London has been on the rise as a result of a number of projects from the Mayor’s office, and the latest announcement aims to get commercial property developers to sell on their land in order for it to be developed into affordable housing.There are believed to be 177,000 new housing developments in London with planning permission, but developers have failed to sell on land for building as it is argued if they hold onto the land the price will increase and can then be sold for further profit. The Mayor has said that this is against the economic plans for the city and contributes further to the housing crisis in the area. As a result the Mayor has added that he would not be afraid to use compulsory purchase orders (CPO) to stop land-banking and force developers to sell the land on.The process of enforcing a CPO is complex and expensive and is usually only used in circumstance where there is a real benefit to the general public, however with the housing crisis that the capital is currently experiencing this reason could be strong enough. Despite this the Mayor is planning to tread carefully and says he will respect private property rights and is sympathetic to property owners as he has said,“The reason schemes don’t go ahead is not just because of the greed of developers.”The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article. Setfords Solicitors are a national full service law firm, with commercial property solicitors in Shrewsbury and across the country.