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Councils hopeful of Right to Buy reform as consultation launches
Councils have welcomed a consultation on Right to Buy in the hope that the reforms will allow them to build more homes under the policy.
The consultation will be published today alongside the Social Housing Green Paper on possible reforms to the rules governing the use of Right to Buy receipts, “to make it easier for councils to replace properties sold”.
Judith Blake, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “We have long called for reforms to Right to Buy in order to allow councils to build more homes, and there are some positive signs in the consultation.
“But we must go much further so that councils can deliver the affordable homes that our residents need and deserve, including allowing councils to set discounts locally and to keep 100% of receipts from homes sold.
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Ms Blake also welcomed the end of plans for forced sales of high-value council homes, saying “we have worked hard to demonstrate the need to scrap this policy, which would have forced councils to sell off large numbers of the homes desperately needed by low-income families in our communities”.
The LGA said more than 60,000 homes had been sold under Right to Buy in the past six years on average at half the market rate, leaving councils with enough money for only 14,000 replacement homes.
The government in March admitted falling behind on its pledge to replace council housing sold under the Right to Buy for the first time.
Dominic Raab, housing minister at the time, said: “To help councils build more homes, we believe there is a case for greater flexibility on the use of receipts from Right to Buy sales,” and would consult on this.
Gavin Barwell, housing minister in 2017, said that Right to Buy was “only politically justifiable” if the government was meeting its pledge to replace home sold.
KEY PROPOSALS IN THE SOCIAL HOUSING GREEN PAPER
- New 'league tables' of housing providers based on key performance indicators, surrounding services such as repairs and neighbourhood management. This could be linked to housing grant.
- Consideration to scrapping of the current 'serious detriment' test, to allow 'Ofsted-style' tougher consumer regulation
- New home ownership options such as allowing tenants to buy as little as 1% of their property each year through shared ownership. This would only apply to new shared ownership purchases.
- Ditching of plans to force social landlords to offer fixed term tenancies rather than lifetime tenancies in social housing
- Ditching of plans to force councils to sell off their most valuable social housing when it becomes vacant
- The potential introduction a new stock transfer programme from councils to 'community-led' housing associations
- The return of guaranteed debt funding to help the development of affordable homes, and longer term 'strategic partnerships' for developing housing associations
