David Lammy, the former Labour minister who was praised for his response to the London riots in 2011, which started in his Tottenham constituency, has announced that he is to seek the Labour nomination for London mayor in 2016.

The former universities minister, who grew up near Broadwater Farm in Tottenham, north London, said he would place affordable housing at the heart of his campaign, with a pledge to introduce a "comprehensive programme" of rent controls.

Lammy is expected to face strong opposition for the Labour nomination for the 2016 London mayoral contest, which will mark the end of Boris Johnson's eight years at City Hall.

Tessa Jowell, the former Olympics minister; Sadiq Khan, the shadow justice secretary; Margaret Hodge, the chair of the commons public accounts committee; and Diane Abbott, the former shadow public health minister, are also seen as possible candidates for the Labour nomination. The party's candidate may be chosen in an open primary.

As he announced his decision to contest the Labour nomination, Lammy released a 41-page report on the London housing crisis. This sets out 34 policy proposals to ensure that the 63,000 homes a year that are needed in the capital are built. The Lammy proposals include:

• Introducing a "comprehensive programme" of rent controls to protect tenants. This would include limits on rent rises and the creation of a compulsory London landlords' register.

• Holding a debate about developing greenbelt sites "that aren't worthy of the name".

• Strengthening affordable housing by creating a variable rate of the definition of "affordable" linked to average earnings in each London borough. The affordability threshold would be capped at 60%.

Lammy said: "A significant lack of homes is now a critical issue for the future of London and a problem that requires a bold solution. We are facing some complex and contentious issues, which require a grown-up and serious debate – issues like how we reclassify greenbelt land that doesn't live up to its name and changing how we define affordability. It's big issues like this that will define the future of London and working on this has led me to declare my intention to run for mayor of London.

"People I meet around the city are facing desperate problems of overcrowding, poverty and homelessness as a result of the housing crisis. London's lack of homes is starving Londoners of the opportunities they should enjoy in this city, and depriving London business of skilled employees who can no longer afford to live and work in the capital.

"Moving forward as a global city, there is no doubt that we must build more homes. This has become a truism but our leaders have been much more reluctant to talk about how or where those homes should be build. I hope my report will be the start of a serious conversation on that.

"We are in this situation because of a wilful refusal of successive governments to accept the scale of London's housing crisis. We now need bold and serious decisions to be made in order to get London building as soon as possible."

Lammy, 42, who is married to the artist Nicola Green, turned down the offer of a place in the shadow cabinet after Ed Miliband became Labour leader in 2010. The MP, who had nominated Diane Abbott in the leadership contest but had supported David Miliband, offered full support for the new leader. But he said he wanted the freedom to speak out on a broad range of issues.

One of the most important moments in Lammy's career came in the late summer of 2011 when riots spread across London after police shot dead Mark Duggan in his Tottenham constituency. Lammy was widely praised for his book, Out of the Ashes, which examined the causes of the riots.