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Government launches Voluntary Right to Buy pilot
The long-awaited large scale pilot of the Right to Buy for housing associations launches across the Midlands today.
Funded through £200m from the Treasury, the trial will allow tenants across the region to purchase their homes at a discount equivalent to that available to council tenants.
Applications for the pilot will be allocated through a ballot, with the government saying this would “ensure fairness and manage interest within the funding available”.
Tenants have only one month from today – until 16 September – to apply for the draw and if selected will have until spring 2020 to complete their purchase.
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Just two days ago, the government scrapped a plan to force councils to sell off their most expensive homes, which was intended to fund the full policy. It is now not clear how the discounts would be paid for if the Voluntary Right to Buy is eventually rolled out nationwide.
The government said it will “assess the impact of the pilot before deciding on the next steps for this policy” – meaning it will not need to address the question of full roll out until at least 2020.
Housing secretary James Brokenshire said: “This government is committed to providing opportunities for people to get a foot on the property ladder and to have a place they can call their own.
“Our £200m investment into the Midlands Voluntary Right to Buy Pilot is the first step in helping housing association tenants realise their dream of home ownership.”
David Orr, chief executive of the NHF, said: “Over the past three years, we have worked closely with the government on its proposal to extend the Right to Buy to housing association tenants.
“Of course, this pilot is not the finished product. We want to take the time to get this major endeavour right.
“It will be a success for everyone involved only if every home that is sold is replaced with a new affordable home, and if the application process is as smooth as possible for tenants.”
A key element of the pilot will be testing the concept of portability. This is where tenants are able to “port” their Right to Buy discount to buy another housing association property if the home they live in is exempt.
Housing associations will publish their policies on portability online and must “make a reasonable offer giving you the opportunity to use your Right to Buy discount to buy another housing association property” should a property be exempt.
The government website notes: “You should be aware that there is no requirement for your housing association to offer you more than one alternative property (though some may choose to do so) and there is no guarantee that a suitable property will be found.”
A full list of participating councils and local authorities is available here.
The Right to Buy extension was first announced by ex-prime minister David Cameron during the 2016 general election campaign.
The National Housing Federation (NHF) later struck a deal with government to accept the policy on a voluntary basis, so long as housing associations would be fully compensated for discounts and could choose which of their homes would be exempt.
