logo
Huge change for anyone living in council houses announced by Govt

Huge change for anyone living in council houses announced by Govt

Daily Mirror04-07-2025
The changes could make it much harder for people to buy their home - with new houses protected for 35 years
People who live in a council house are set to see a big change if proposed legislation is adopted. This week Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) Matthew Pennycook made a written statement to Parliament where he laid out plans which will make it much harder for people to buy their homes.
In a bid to try to keep social housing stock the plan will see a much longer period before people will be able to buy their homes - in fact tripling. Also any new homes will be exempt from right to buy for 35 years.

Mr Pennycock said: ' To better protect much-needed social housing stock, boost councils' capacity, and enable them to once again build social homes at scale, we need to further reform Right to Buy. Following the reduction in maximum Right to Buy cash discounts announced at Autumn Budget 2024 and our decision to allow councils to keep 100% of Right to Buy receipts, we consulted late last year on reforms to deliver a fairer and more sustainable scheme.'

Planned reforms to the Right to Buy:
increasing the length of time someone needs to have been a public sector tenant to qualify for Right to Buy from 3 to 10 years;
reforming discounts so they start at 5% of the property value, rising by 1% for every extra year an individual is a secure tenant up to the maximum of 15% of the property value or the cash discount cap (whichever is lower); and
exempting newly built social homes from Right to Buy for 35 years, ensuring councils are not losing homes before they have recovered the costs of building them.
Mr Pennycock added: ' We will legislate when parliamentary time allows to bring these reforms into force. More immediately, we will reform the receipts regime and extend existing flexibilities on spending Right to Buy receipts indefinitely. Councils will also continue to be able to retain the share of the receipts that was previously returned to HM Treasury. In addition, from 2026-27, we will permit councils to combine receipts with grant funding for affordable housing to accelerate council delivery of new homes.'
He said a new Council Housebuilding Skills & Capacity Programme, by £12 million of funding in 2025/26 would encourage local authorities to train staff to build their own homes. He added: 'The Programme will enable the Local Government Association to provide centralised training and guidance to councils to upskill their existing workforces and to expand its successful Pathways to Planning programme to help recruit graduates ready to undertake training to become qualified surveyors and project managers. The Department will also work with Homes England to support councils to boost their engagement with the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme.'
BBC Money Box presenter Paul Lewis said on X: 'Major reforms to the right to buy council housing planned by govt 'when parliamentary time allows', Housing Minister announces in a written statement to Parliament. It will reduce discounts, protect new builds for 35 years, and more freedom for councils to use sales receipts.'
And his followers said it made sense for councils be able to hang onto the homes they build for longer. Joy Brookes said: 'No public sector housing shd ever have been sold off or be sold off now but doesn't this new proposal about new builds create a two tier system - a tenant can buy existing stock but not a new-build built after a certain date? Does it take 35 years to recover cost of building?'
Peter added: 'Right to buy was the biggest mistake ever made. It reduced the council-owned housing stock significantly & this is why social housing has never recovered & is in the crisis it is at the moment because governments have failed to rebuild stock levels to meet the needs.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Councils could house migrants in empty homes, disused tower blocks and student digs as unrest grows over asylum hotels
Councils could house migrants in empty homes, disused tower blocks and student digs as unrest grows over asylum hotels

Daily Mail​

time18 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Councils could house migrants in empty homes, disused tower blocks and student digs as unrest grows over asylum hotels

Asylum seekers could be housed in empty homes, disused tower blocks and former student digs bought by local councils amid a growing backlash at the use of hotels. The Government is proposing pilot schemes where it could pay local authorities to buy or renovate property, which they would lease back to the Home Office to house asylum seekers. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has set out a target to end the use of hotels by 2029, although it is unclear how this can be achieved when Channel crossings are at record highs. There are currently 700,000 empty homes across England, including 93,600 in London and 35,000 in Birmingham, Liverpool and Leeds - according to official figures. Sir Keir Starmer outlined the Government's approach this week, telling a committee of MPs: 'A central focus of what we are doing is what can be built, arranged or taken by councils and repurposed. I am impatient for this change to be driven through. 'We have to take over other accommodation, and we have to drive down the asylum lists. There is no alternative... There is lots of housing in many local authorities that can be used, and we are identifying where it can be used.' Dame Angela Eagle, the border security and asylum minister, told MPs that the ambition was to move away from using private accommodation contractors to a 'more democratically accountable' system in partnership with councils. Around 200 councils are said to have 'expressed interest' in running pilot schemes funded by central government. Migrant hotels are a major focus of public anger, with more protests taking place outside sites across England over the weekend. The recent string of flare-ups began with a demonstration outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after Ethiopian man Hadush Kebatu was charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl just days after he arrived in Britain in a Channel dinghy. Police chiefs have already described the unrest at The Bell as a 'signal flare' for another summer of disorder. Epping Council voted unanimously last week to urge the Government to close the hotel. But Treasury minister James Murray refused to comment yesterday when asked why the Government has not listened to the demands. He told Sky News: 'I'm not going to comment on specific cases, but I do understand people's frustration. 'And whilst, obviously, there can never be any place for criminal violence, there's absolutely a right for people to protest about this.' While using hotels at a cost of about £5.77million is unpopular, moving large groups of asylum seekers into accommodation in local communities often provokes a backlash too. The Home Office sparked fury this week after it emerged they were planning, without consultation with the local council, to relocate 35 asylum seekers to a new development above a High Street shop in Waterlooville, Hampshire. The earmarked development is a newly converted block of 19 flats called Waterloo House. The flats are located above a bric a brac store called The Junk Emporium which was once a Peacocks clothing store and before that, a Tesco. It is owned by Mountley Group whose Director, Hersch Schneck, also owns a migrant hotel in nearby Cosham. A member of staff at the shop, who rent from Mountley Group, told MailOnline how they only found out about the plans over Facebook and revealed the fallout of the row has severely impacted business. She explained: 'Yesterday we probably took around a third less. They [customers] think it's to do with us but it's not, we just rent the shop, they kind of assume we know what is going which we don't. 'We've had lots of phone calls and people coming in asking questions we can't answer. We were always under the impression that the flats above would be sold to commuters and people like that. Portsmouth fan Steve, 58, who has lived in the area his whole life, told MailOnline: 'I've got a 13-year-old granddaughter, when you're about that age, you want to go out up the high street, but I'd be worried now. 'There's no criminal history checks on these people. It's easy to get swept up in that aspect, but it's not just that, I think it will attract trouble for us as well as the migrants. 'With the planned protests, I don't want people to start smashing things up because that plays into the hands of the Home Office and police who say 'see, there we go, right wing'. 'We have genuine concerns but the narrative can change quickly.' Patricia Walding, 87, added: 'These hotels are changing our towns, they are costing us a fortune and robbing the taxpayer while our own people are sleeping on the streets, I think it's disgusting.' Sid Conroy, who used to work for Airbus and now spends his time breeding racing pigeons, fears serious repercussions if the hotel gets given the greenlight. The 68-year-old said: 'I'm dead against it, there could be fights and trouble up here. You're going to have problems here, I can tell you that. 'There are people waiting years on housing waiting lists and it just seems like they get a brand new flat just like that? Why can't they look after us first? 'Our government is making us unhappy because of it. People are left behind, they're thinking more of the people coming in now. You get them coming over here, causing mayhem, causing trouble, all they get is a slap on the wrist and don't do it again. This is how I see it.' Others were more relaxed about the plans, with one lady, a special needs teacher who did not want to be named, claiming that locals were unloading unrelated grievances about their lives onto asylum seekers because they are 'an easy target'. On Friday, the Home Office said asylum seekers face being made homeless if they refuse orders by officials to move out of hotels into alternative accommodation. Around 100 asylum seekers refuse to move accommodation each week, and ministers currently have no powers to force them. Record arrivals for the year is making it harder for officials to find new accomodation Under the Conservatives, the Government threatened to remove housing and support from those who refused to move to the Bibby Stockholm barge, which is no longer in use. Labour's new plan will mirror the Tory rules, but will be applied more widely to other forms of accommodation. The 'firm but fair' policy is part of the Government's drive to end the use of expensive hotels to house asylum seekers. One plan could see empty homes brought back into use to house both asylum seekers and local homeless people, according to the Telegraph. The Home Office said it wanted 'to develop a more sustainable, long-term model of accommodation supply, which may be more locally led, should reduce competition for affordable housing, and help deliver new supply'.

Nigel Farage to unveil mystery 'special guest' in major Reform press conference TODAY
Nigel Farage to unveil mystery 'special guest' in major Reform press conference TODAY

Daily Mirror

time2 hours ago

  • Daily Mirror

Nigel Farage to unveil mystery 'special guest' in major Reform press conference TODAY

Nigel Farage will today host a Reform UK press conference - with a mystery special guest. The party leader will address the nation, and journalists, in central London from 11am. Previous such events have seen the MP for Clacton announce defections to his party. Sir Jake Berry, a former leading Conservative, was among the latest to switch sides, following ex-Welsh secretary David Jones who earlier this month announced he enrolled as a member. While a defection could be on the cards, Mr Farage has also been joined by well-known faces during press conferences. During the election campaign, boxing champion Derek Chisora often showed up to lend his support. Attention-loving Mr Farage held a press conference just last week, where he unveiled a senior Tory who used a racist slur in a WhatsApp chat is his latest Reform recruit. At an event in Wales, a grinning Mr Farage crowed that Welsh Parliament member Laura Anne Jones had switched sides. Ms Jones has also previously apologised for saying she would "like to do a spot of Chav shooting" on Facebook - and said it is "a shame that isn't legal". 09:55Sophie Huskisson Who could be the special guest? Previous such events have seen Nigel Farage announce defections to his party. Attention-loving Mr Farage held a press conference only just last week, where he unveiled a senior Tory who used a racist slur in a WhatsApp chat is his latest Reform recruit. Sir Jake Berry, a former leading Conservative, iss among the latest Tory heavyweights to switch sides, following ex-Welsh secretary David Jones who earlier this month announced he enrolled as a member. While a defection could be on the cards, Mr Farage has also been joined by well-known faces during press conferences. During the election campaign, boxing champion Derek Chisora often showed up to lend his support.

Jacinta Price uncovers the truth behind 'First Nations' terminology
Jacinta Price uncovers the truth behind 'First Nations' terminology

Daily Mail​

time4 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Jacinta Price uncovers the truth behind 'First Nations' terminology

By Indigenous senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured) declared that 'First Nations' is not even an Australian term before being told off by Penny Wong in parliament. The star Coalition politician was at the centre of a fiery row in the Senate last week after One Nation senators including Pauline Hanson turned their backs on the acknowledgement of country at the start of parliament. Senator Price separately objected to the ceremonies as a person of Indigenous heritage, claiming they did little to improve the lives of Indigenous Australians and were a form of 'political point-scoring'. It prompted Senator Wong to urge the Coalition to 'respect' parliamentary traditions. 'I would hope that the Opposition would reflect on the words of their own leader in relation to welcomes to country,' the Labor Senate leader told the chamber. 'Decency and respect cost us nothing, but it goes a long way to building a sense of unity.' Before being told off by Wong, Price launched a blistering attack on the term 'First Nations' - that has since gone viral on social media. 'First Nations isn't even Australian terminology, for crying out loud!' she told the chamber. 'It's been adopted from Canada, from America. It's just reinvention, which is actually belittling and watering down traditional culture and what it's really about.' Price also doubled down on her stance about Welcome to Country ceremonies, claiming they were a 'reinvention' of Indigenous culture. 'Senator Hanson is correct to say that Welcome to Country is not traditional culture. It isn't. And what we do need to recognise is - and it is important for all of us, as leaders of this nation, to recognise - the reinvention of culture, which diminishes traditional culture,' she continued. 'For those who still live close to traditional culture, within cultural confines, their day-to-day lives are dictated by it.' 'They speak their language. They are often spoken about in very romanticised terms. And the use of acknowledgements really does absolutely nothing to improve their lives. To be quite honest, as a woman of Indigenous heritage but, first and foremost, as an Australian, I am absolutely done with the virtue signalling that takes place. I am of the belief that it is not necessary to have an acknowledgement, because we are all Australians. 'Every single one of us - including the Ngunnawal and the Ngambri - is Australian. We are here to serve all Australians equally in this country, not to praise or acknowledge one group above others. Truly, I don't think you really want to acknowledge my existence because of my indigeneity more than anybody else's. I am equal to you and to everybody else here and to everybody in this country.' 'But we can ignore traditional culture in this chamber because there are elements of it every single one of you across from here ignore, because it's detrimental to the most remote and marginalised communities. But if you speak up against it, if you mention it, you're painted as a racist or somebody who is a "coconut", or somebody who is a traitor. 'magine if we treated every single racial group in this manner in this country. It's horrendous.' Price didn't mince her words on what she thought of the politicisation of Indigenous Australians due to their racial heritage. 'I'm sick to death of it as a woman, mother, soon to be grandmother and as an Australian of proud heritage, whether it's my convict ancestors or it's my Warlpiri ancestors, I'm proud of it all and we should all be,' she said. Price was quickly inundated with widespread support. 'Thank you for speaking up for ALL Australians, Jacinta,' conservative political lobbyist group Advance Australia posted. A man added: 'Well said, we are all Australian irrespective of skin pigmentation, heritage, race or whether you believe in a deity or you don't. I hope this is replayed many, many times.' Another commented: 'Here's hoping that one day we can all be proud Australians and recognise past heritages and be thankful we live in an amazing country.' The speech also reignited calls for Price to lead the Coalition. 'Future Prime Minister of Australia,' one Aussie commented. The senator's fiery speech came after Opposition Senate Leader Michaelia Cash leapt to her defence and accused Wong (pictured) of having 'sought to dismiss' Price's objection to the ceremonies. 'I will stand by and respect Senator Nampijinpa Price, who every day has lived and breathed reconciliation in this country - her father is white, her mother is black,' Cash said. 'Please don't ever come into this place again and pontificate to us like you've just done.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store