London set new records for housing growth and development approvals in 2025

This week, the City released its 2025 Annual Development Report and the Q4 building services report. Together, they highlight a record-breaking year for residential development, including the highest number of housing units ever approved through building permits and significant improvements to development approval timelines.

In 2025, the City issued building permits for 5,462 new housing units, a 48 per cent increase over 2024 and the highest annual total of all time. Total building construction value reached $2.71 billion across all sectors, including residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional development, which is 23 per cent higher than last year’s record and the highest annual total in London’s history.

Since 2022, City Council has approved a total of 51,434 new housing units, exceeding the Province of Ontario’s Housing Pledge of 47,000 units. By the end of 2025, 15,360 residential units had been created towards London’s housing pledge.

“Breaking these records did not happen by accident. This report reflects the deliberate, targeted improvements to our approval processes that ensure London responds to the housing challenge effectively,” said Mayor Josh Morgan. “We are approving more homes than ever, surpassing provincial targets, getting shovels in the ground faster, and planning responsibly to deliver more homes for Londoners.”

Growth in 2025 was driven primarily by medium- and high-density housing, with apartments and other multi-unit dwellings accounting for 82 per cent of all residential units approved through building permits. High-density housing was the primary driver of growth, with 3,980 units delivered, surpassing the historical annual totals across all housing types observed over the past 10 years. 

“Process improvements played a key role in supporting this growth,” said Scott Mathers, Deputy City Manager of Housing and Community Growth. “By streamlining approvals and reducing processing timelines, particularly for minor zoning amendments and other key application types, we are helping projects move faster from application to construction while still meeting legislative requirements and supporting quality development.”

The report also tracks continued progress on affordable housing. Since the launch of the City’s Roadmap to 3,000 Affordable Units Plan in late 2021, a total of 2,576 City-funded affordable housing units have been tracked, an increase of 437 units since the end of 2024. Including non-City-funded projects, more than 3,300 affordable housing units have been constructed or are underway in London since 2021.

Additional Residential Unit activity continued to grow over the past five years, with 487 units approved in 2025 (up 12% year-over-year).

The Annual Development Report serves as a key monitoring tool for City Council, the development industry, and the public, informing growth management and infrastructure planning decisions. 

Monitor monthly housing indicator highlights that were previously brought to Council through reports to Planning and Environment Committee.