‘Right to buy was the only good thing Thatcher ever did’
It was one of Margaret Thatcher’s flagship policies, giving tenants the right to buy their council homes. But critics say it has decimated social housing stocks. Now the Welsh Government plans to abolish the policy across Wales. Katie Sands and Steffan Th
ONE of Margaret Thatcher’s flagship policies – allowing tenants the right to buy their council homes – has been described as “the only good thing she ever did” by some of the people it was designed to help.
More than 139,000 housing units in Wales have been bought by tenants since 1980, when the then Prime Minister launched her crusade to increase the number of homeowners, dubbed the ‘Right to Buy’.
One of the key policies of Margaret Thatcher’s Britain will be swept away in Wales by the end of this year, following the publication this week of a Bill to abolish the right.
Opponents of the policy say it has reduced the availability of social housing and lengthened waiting lists for those who cannot afford to buy homes.
Marianne Harris, who lives in West Cross council estate in Swansea, said: “Me and my family have benefited greatly from this scheme because we’ve bought our house out of it.
“In this day and age fewer young people buy houses as they are being priced out. I don’t think it will ease pressure on housing because it’s not as if people are getting paid more is it?”
Fellow resident Peter Jones said: “I’m shocked by this and I think it is really bad because a large amount of people wouldn’t be able to buy a house without the right-to-buy scheme.
“If you own your own home it gives you some security so I really don’t understand the benefits of getting rid of this scheme.
“I don’t care if they are giving people a year to buy their council house some people need longer.”
The new Bill will scrap the right to buy and associated other rights across the whole of Wales.
Following legal advice taken by the Welsh Government, existing tenants will have up to a year to make fresh applications to buy their homes after the Bill receives Royal Assent. The gap is to minimise the possibility of a court challenge under human rights legislation.
The Welsh Government sees its proposal as a fair balance between the rights of existing tenants to exercise their current rights and the rights of future tenants who need social housing.
Currently, tenants who make an application to buy their homes receive a discount of £8,000 if they do not sell it on for five years. Until July 2015 the discount was £16,000.
A Swansea resident, who asked not to be named, said scrapping the sceme was a bad decision: “The average taxpayer is getting shafted in this country.
“Between the two world wars Swansea council took out a huge loan to build council houses in Mayhill and Townhill and they were there for the local people.
“There is nothing wrong with selling council houses as long as money goes back to the people that need it the most.”
Another added: “I can see why they would want to do it, but I think it is more negative because it is the only way most people will be able to buy their homes.”
Raymond King, aged 67, was a steelworker in Tremorfa, Cardiff.
He retired aged 50, and decided to buy the council house he was renting in Ely – which his grandparents lived in before him.
He said: “The best thing we ever done – the only good thing Thatcher ever did!”
In introducing the Bill, the Welsh Government aims to protect the Welsh stock of social housing from further reduction, making sure it can provide safe, secure and affordable housing for people who are unable to take advantage of the housing market to buy or rent a home.
To encourage the development of new social housing, the Bill, if passed by the Assembly, will provide that the Right to Buy and Right to Acquire will end for new homes two months after Royal Assent.
The Welsh Government says this will encourage social landlords to build new homes in the knowledge that they will not be at risk of being sold after only a relatively short period.
According to the Welsh Government, the Bill complements other actions being taken by it to increase the supply of housing. Already in four local authority areas in Wales – Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Anglesey and Flintshire – the right to buy not just council homes, but also houses and flats owned by housing associations, has been suspended under an earlier piece of Assembly legislation.
Ahead of the Bill’s introduction, Communities Secretary Carl Sargeant said: “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 per cent 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.
“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.” He added: “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.”
Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams said she would defy the wishes of her own party and vote with Labour to scrap tenants’ right to buy their council homes.
At the weekend, party members at the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ Spring Conference in Swansea decided to oppose the abolition of the right to buy.
Councillor Dyfed Edwards, the Welsh Local Government Association’s housing spokesman said: “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,.”