Lewis: 'Champion aspiration' on Right to Buy

In a speech at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference in Manchester later today, the housing minister will acknowledge that the policy ‘will be challenging for housing associations’, but that their tenants should not ‘be treated differently’ to council tenants.

The government has said it will extend the Right to Buy to housing associations in a Housing Bill due to be published later this year.

Ministers are proposing to fund the extension by forcing councils to sell off their most expensive vacant homes and replace them with cheaper properties.

In his speech, Brandon Lewis will say: ‘I know these changes will be challenging for housing associations but I also know they care deeply about their tenants. That’s why I’m calling on them to support our vision and become the champions of aspiration.

‘For 30 years, Right to Buy has set a benchmark for how the government can help working people. But there is a problem – and that is the unequal treatment of 1.3 million tenants living in social housing managed by housing associations, who have received far less assistance, or none at all.

‘There’s no reason why these tenants should be treated differently. They live in the same streets, their kids go to the same schools, and they share the same ambitions for their families. And yet they don’t benefit from the same opportunities.

‘This is clearly unfair.  Aspiration should not be limited by the organisation that manages your home, especially if it is funded by the taxpayer.’

Figures released today show nearly 30,000 council homes have been sold in the three years since Right to Buy discounts increased, with an estimated 3,337 replacements started.