Abolition of Welsh Right to Buy moves ahead

Abolition of Welsh Right to Buy moves ahead

New legislation to abolish the Right to Buy has been proposed by the Welsh Government.

After a period of at least 12 months following Royal Assent, the proposed Bill wold mean the Right to Buy, the Preserved Right to Buy, as well as the Right to Acquire, would be abolished for tenants of local authorities and registered social landlords.

If passed by the Assembly, the Bill would end Right to Buy for new homes, just two months after Royal Assent. The aim is to encourage social landlords to develop new social housing; if they know the property won’t be sold on after a short period of time, they’re more likely build new homes.

Commenting on the proposal was Carl Sargeant. The Communities Secretary highlighted the declining social housing stock and the aim to reduce poverty in Wales.

“Our social housing is a valuable resource, but it is under considerable pressure. The size of the stock has declined significantly since 1980 when the Right to Buy was introduced. The number of sales is equivalent to 45% of the social housing stock in 1981. This has resulted in people in housing need, many of whom are vulnerable, waiting longer to access a home they can afford.

“The Bill supports the Welsh Government’s wider aims of a more prosperous and fairer Wales, helping to tackle poverty by protecting our stock of social housing from further reduction.”

He went on to mention the importance of the Bill being transparent for existing tenants, as well as the overall aim to significantly increase the housing stock.

“I recognise the proposal affects existing tenants and we will ensure tenants are made aware of the effect of the Bill in good time before abolition takes place. The Bill will require the Welsh Government to publish information, which social landlords, in turn, must provide to every affected tenant, within two months of the Bill receiving Royal Assent.

“We have set an ambitious target of creating 20,000 affordable homes in this term of government. Alongside social housing, this will include schemes such as Help to Buy and Rent to Own to enable people on modest incomes to own their own homes. We are supporting low-cost home ownership and we are expanding the social housing stock. Abolishing the Right to Buy will complement these other actions we are taking in order to support people in housing need.”

Also commenting on the shortage of homes was Councillor Dyfed Edwards, the Welsh Local Government Association spokesperson for Housing. He stated: “At a time of acute shortages of social rented homes, and with many thousands of people currently on housing waiting lists, the proposal from the Welsh Government to abolish Right to Buy is a welcome step in tackling a growing problem in Wales. It is essential that people’s access is improved to good quality social rented housing in order to enhance people’s lives, and also to revitalise local communities.”

Georgia Owen

Georgia is the Content Executive and will be your primary contact when submitting your latest news. While studying for an LLB at the University of Liverpool, Georgia gained experience working within retail, as well as social media management. She later went on to work for a local newspaper, before starting at Today’s Conveyancer.

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