Right to Buy housing scheme ‘is failing’ with sold-off homes ‘not being replaced’

LESS THAN half of the new homes built to replace the tens of thousands sold off under the Government’s flagship Right to Buy scheme are traditional council housing, according to a new analysis.

Research shows that of the 10,600 homes that have so far been commissioned to replace the 51,300 sold off under the policy, just 48 per cent are lowcost social housing.

The majority of the remaining 5,500 new-builds are affordable rents, which can be let at up to 80 per cent of the private market value. This means that tenants in an area like Leeds would still face an average rent of around £520 a month.

The decision to extend the Thatcher-era Right to Buy scheme to social housing was one of the flagship policies of the former Tory Prime Minister David Cameron.

It was framed as an opportunity for low-income families to secure a “vital rung on the property ladder”.

Under the scheme, local authorities have been allowed to keep a portion of the incomes from sales to replace those sold.

Responding to warnings that it could result in a shortage of social housing, the Government has repeatedly promised that any additional homes sold will be replaced on a one-forone basis.

However, commenting on the new figures – compiled by

industry publication Inside Housing – Shadow Housing minister John Healey said they confirm that the Tory approach to Right to Buy “is failing”. “Not only has just one in five homes sold under the [scheme] been replaced but of those that have been replaced fewer than half are let at a genuinely affordable social rent,” he said.

The Tories have committed to offering Right to Buy on a “new generation” of social housing.