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Council to buy back Right to Buy properties to meet affordable homes target
More than 10% of a Welsh council’s new homes target will be met by buying properties from the open market, the majority of which were originally sold through the Right to Buy.
Cardiff Council plans to deliver 160 affordable homes by purchasing properties from the market, as part of its target to deliver 1,000 new council homes by 2022.
In a report, which will be considered by the council’s cabinet on Thursday, the council said the properties purchased “are usually ex-council properties sold through the Right to Buy”.
It also said there would be a focus on acquiring larger family homes, as well as accessible ground-floor flats, as those types of properties “are not delivered through traditional build routes in large numbers”.
In August 2019, there were more than 7,700 applicants waiting to be housed in Cardiff, yet only 1,500 properties became available for letting in 2018/19.
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According to the council, a total of 44 properties have already been purchased via the buy-back Scheme.
Cardiff Council suspended the Right to Buy in 2017 following approval from the Welsh government.
Lynda Thorne, cabinet member for housing and communities, said: “We are actively pursuing opportunities to buy properties off the open market as we work towards delivering more homes to meet increasing demand in the city.
“More often than not, the properties are ex-council homes, but we can also consider buying other homes if they are appropriate to meet housing need.
“We are making very good progress with the buy-back scheme, which, together with our other delivery methods, are significantly boosting the amount of good-quality, affordable housing in Cardiff.”
