Latest news with #RightToBuy
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Labour plans further Right to Buy restrictions in England
Newly-built social housing in England will be exempt from Right to Buy for 35 years, under government plans to further scale back the tenants will also have to live in their properties for much longer before qualifying for the scheme, which allows them to buy at a Minister Matthew Pennycook said it would help local authorities "protect much-needed social housing stock" and build new homes at the Conservatives branded the latest plans an "attack on aspiration". Introduced in 1980, Right to Buy became a signature policy of the Thatcher government and was initially credited with increasing rates of home in recent years the policy has been blamed for depleting council housing stock, after successive governments failed to replace properties sold under the scheme, often at a significant was abolished in Scotland in 2014, with Wales following in coming to power last year, Labour has stopped short of doing the same in England, but has significantly pared back the policy as part of broader plans to boost affordable November's Budget, it slashed the maximum discounts available to tenants to between £16,000-£38,000, down from £102,400 to £136,400. Discount rates Now it has confirmed new social homes will be exempt from the scheme for 35 years - longer than the 10 to 30 years suggested in a policy paper ahead of a two-month consultation earlier this government said the longer period would ensure councils do not lose homes before they can recover costs from building them - noting the "payback period" on most new developments is at least 30 has also announced new discount rates to sit alongside the cash caps announced at the the plans, discounts will start at 5% of a property's value, down from 35% for houses and 50% for flats now, social tenants will still be able to increase this discount by 1% for every year they live in their property, but only up to a new maximum of 15% of the home's value or the new cash cap, whichever is will also have to have lived in their properties for at least ten years before qualifying, up from three years government says the changes will require changes to legislation, to be delivered "when parliamentary time allows". 'Unsustainable' The government has also confirmed it will not be extending Right to Buy to housing association tenants - an idea previously suggested by Boris Johnson shortly before he was ousted by his own MPs in move was welcomed by the National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations, which added that losses in local authority stock had been "unsustainable".The moves to further restrict Right to Buy are likely to be welcomed by the Local Government Association, which has previously warned that replacing sold-off homes was becoming "increasingly impossible" for councils it had been pushing for a longer 15-year qualifying period, and more flexibility for councils to set their own minimum discounts, including the option of not offering any initial discount to new tenants. However, Conservative shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake accused Labour of "turning its back on the very families who work hard and want a stake in their future"."For decades, Right to Buy has helped millions take their first step onto the housing ladder. Now, this government is making it harder than ever to own a home," he added. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Rayner to lose homes faster than she can build them in Right to Buy crackdown
Right to Buy applications are projected to reach a two-decade high ahead of Labour's dramatic overhaul of the scheme, analysis suggests. The number of council tenants using Right to Buy will rocket by 162pc, with 18,500 homes changing hands in 2025-26, according to local authority predictions. But experts warned the surge would effectively undermine Angela Rayner's home building ambitions. She previously pledged to build 18,000 new social homes by 2029. Right to Buy, a flagship policy of Margaret Thatcher, allows tenants who have lived in a council property for three years or more to purchase it from their local authority at a discounted rate. The requirement will rise to 10 years under reforms led by Ms Rayner, the Housing Secretary, who benefited from the Right to Buy scheme herself. Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, also cut the maximum discount available from £136,000 to £16,000 in most London boroughs and from £102,000 to £38,000 outside the capital. The decision was announced in her maiden Budget in October. Analysis by the i newspaper found councils in some areas had seen applications for the scheme double following the announcement. Overall, councils predicted 18,500 homes would be sold off in the next year. It amounts to the highest number of Right to Buy homes being sold in a single year than any other time in the last two decades. Spike to 'exacerbate homelessness challenges' Dr Samuel Hughes, of the Centre for Policy Studies think tank, warned that the Government's reforms would make it 'unaffordable for any but the richest tenants to take advantage of the scheme'. He said: 'It is not surprising that many are racing to buy their homes now, before they are taken out of reach.' The Local Government Association, which represents councils in England and Wales, warned that the spike in Right to Buy applications 'will further exacerbate the homelessness challenges that councils are working hard to address'. The trade body maintained that the reforms were 'a step in the right direction' but urged the Government to ensure the scheme was fit for purpose. A spokesman said: 'The Government announcement that Right to Buy discounts were to be reduced appeared to lead to a significant increase in the number of Right to Buy applications made by social housing tenants ahead of the reductions taking effect. 'Whilst there will be positive longer-term benefits of the discount levels in stemming the continued loss of stock, the short-term impact is a spike in the sale of desperately needed social homes.' The Housing Department is spending £800m a year on its Affordable Homes Programme, and earmarked a further £2bn down payment in March's spending review. A government spokesman said: '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. 'This government has delivered on its manifesto commitment to reviewing the increased discounts introduced in 2012, and our reforms will reverse this decline and deliver a fairer scheme by supporting councils to retain the receipts to rebuild their housing stock, while retaining a route for longstanding tenants to own their own homes.'
