THE number of affordable homes built in Croydon has plummeted 75 per cent in less than five years.
A total of 257 affordable housing was constructed in 2012/13 compared to 1,026 in 2009/10.
The council blamed late Government funding and predicted a "surge" of 600 completions next year.
Housing chief Dudley Mead said: "I freely admit it's a disappointing year, but we've got quite a lot of new starts in progress so things will pick up."
There are more than 9,000 households on the housing waiting-list at a time when there has been a sharp increase in homelessness.
Figures for housing funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA), published this week, show that construction has fallen since it peaked at 1,026 in 2009/10.
It dropped thereafter, falling to 726 in 2010/11, 563 in 2011/12 and 257 in 2012/13. In the first seven months of the current financial year only 105 builds were completed.
Croydon Council said the sharp fall in completions was the result of the Government's late start to the 2011-15 building programme.
Because funding for that was allocated in late summer 2011, construction of the majority of housing projects across London began in 2012/13, meaning most will be completed by 2015, a spokesman said.
The GLA figures appear to show Croydon being outperformed by neighbouring boroughs such as Bromley and Lewisham which saw less pronounced reductions between 2009 and 2013, though it is still building in line with average for London as a whole.
Croydon's higher figures, the council said, were due to delays in other boroughs completing schemes from previous years, while most of its schemes had been finished on time.
With 435 houses underway in 2012/13 and at least 413 this year, the council says it is confident the numbers will rise, starting with 600 newbuilds in 2015.
The council has secured £3.1 million from the GLA towards 104 homes in its own new build programme.
There are also plans for hundreds of attainable homes in Scarbrook Road (39), Bedford House (99), Park Lane (23), St James Road (39); 127 Brighton Road (81) and Marlpit Lane (55), both in Coulsdon.
The number of completions for all types of tenure peaked at 1,627 in 2009/10 and fell to 727 in 2012/13.
The council's latest housing plan, announced last October, predicts the need for 9,500 homes over the next five years.
Cllr Mead said the council's plans to build homes over the last two years had been delayed due to having to tender the construction contracts Europe-wide due to EU regulations.
"I know people are understandably frustrated and impatient but we can't do anything more than we are doing now," he said. "We're running out of land.
"But the number will go up because we have approval to use this bank of contractors for another five years without another reference to the bureaucrats in Brussels."
Sarah Jones, Labour's candidate for Croydon Central at the next general election, wants a higher proportion of the 600 homes created as part of the Westfield/Hammerson development to be affordable housing. The minimum is currently 15 per cent.
"No one should pretend that building affordable housing is easy but it can be done and must be something the council prioritises," she said.
"Thousands of people in Croydon are waiting for a proper home and we must take more action."
