An updated ‘Right to Buy’ scheme could ‘protect and reverse the decline in much needed council housing’ Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has said paving the way for ‘longstanding tenants to buy their own homes while at the same time crucially supporting councils to protect and rebuild their depleted housing stock.’
A consultation has been launched to consider extending the length of time someone has to be a tenant before they can buy their home and exempting newly built social homes from sale. The consultation is also seeking views on targets for councils to replace stock sold with homes for social rent of the same size and in the same area.
Right to Buy in its various guises have enabled over 2 million tenants to buy their home since it was introduced in 1980. But despite the introduction of a one-for-one replacement target in 2012, in the 12 years from 2012 to 2024 there have been over 124,000 council Right to Buy sales; yet less than 48,000 homes have been replaced.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said:
“For millions of people in the position I was once in, that first step into the secure social housing that changed my life has become a distant dream. Too many social homes have been sold off before they can be replaced, which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory.”
“We cannot fix the crisis without addressing this issue – it’s like trying to fill a bath when the plug’s not in. A fairer Right to Buy will help councils protect and increase their housing stock, while also keeping the pathway to home ownership there for those who otherwise might not have the opportunity to get on the housing ladder.”
Proposals in the consultation include:
- Increasing the three-year minimum tenancy period for tenants to be eligible to apply under the scheme.
- Reviewing the current exemptions to the scheme and whether newly built social homes should be exempt for a given period to encourage council investment in new homes.
- Seeking views on the replacement of homes with an emphasis on more social rent homes and if there should be a target to replace all future sales on a one-for-one basis.
- Increasing the period in which councils have the right to ask for repayment of all or part of the discount received when a property is sold from five to ten years.
The Labour government have been critical of the Conservative’s approach to social housing which they say has resulted in over 1.2 million people on social housing waiting lists, and ‘record numbers’ of families living in temporary accommodation. It points to the action the Chancellor took in the budget as evidence of ‘decisive action.’ Councils will be able to ‘better protect their housing stock as well as scale up delivery to meet future housing need’ following the decision to reduce maximum Right to Buy discounts to £16,000 – £38,000 (depending on the area) and allow councils to retain receipts from sales which previously went to the treasury; some £183m a year say Labour.
The recent Budget pledged an increase in housing investment to £5bn, including £500 million in new funding for the Affordable Homes Programme as part of its manifesto commitment to build 1.5m homes in this Parliamentary term.
The announcement also confirms the government will not be taking forward the policy on the sale of higher value council assets proposed in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and will repeal these provisions when parliamentary time allows; nor will it be extending the Right to Buy scheme to housing associations, although eligible tenants can still buy their rented home at a discount through the Right to Acquire.
