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Only one in 10 Rent to Buy tenants purchases home
Just one in every 10 tenants of Rent to Buy homes completed since 2008 has managed to successfully buy their home, an Inside Housing investigation reveals.
Responding to an Inside Housing survey of Rent to Buy developers, nine large housing associations revealed they have completed a total of 1,594 Rent to Buy homes over the past decade but have sold just 180 to the original tenants.
Rent to Buy offers a fixed-term tenancy of usually five years at a discounted rate, with the tenant supposed to buy the home or a share in it at the end of this period.
But the survey results reveal just 11.3% of tenants were able to do so, with the remainder either continuing to rent or moving out at the end of this period.
The providers cited rising house prices and the nomination of tenants on low incomes to the properties as reasons for the failure to buy.
A snapshot of Rent to Buy completions
| Organisation name | Rent to Buy homes completed since 2008 | Number sold | % sold | Notes |
| BPHA | 619 | 102 | 16.48 | 29 subject to contract |
| Octavia | 39 | 14 | 35.9 | |
| Longhurst | 58 | 8 | 13.79 | 28 sold as shared ownership after previous tenants left |
| Thirteen | 124 | 18 | 14.52 | |
| Genesis | 148 | 10 | 6.76 | |
| Great Places | 208 | 0 | 0 | |
| Orbit | 85 | 23 | 27.06 | 40 ended tenancy with product sold to new buyer. Seven still rolling |
| Riverside | 248 | 0 | 0 | Sold 13 but not to original tenants |
| EMH | 65 | 5 | 7.69 | |
| Totals | 1,594 | 180 | 11.29 |
Click here to read further analysis
A development director at one of the housing associations said: “The problem was because of the lack of housing, the people being nominated to these schemes couldn’t afford to save up and buy. They were effectively being used as five-year lets for people who needed social housing.”
A spokesperson for Midlands-based Longhurst Group, which sold eight homes of 58 developed to the original tenants, said: “The relatively low number of Rent to Buy sales appears to be down to changes in circumstance for the customers that took this option. We saw a better return in areas where the first year’s rent was refunded as a contribution towards a deposit on the property. Where this option wasn’t available, it was much more challenging for people to find the deposit they needed.”
A spokesperson for Genesis, based in London, which sold 10 of 148 homes added: “We would attribute low uptake in some cases to areas seeing increases in value, meaning that some residents decide that they can no longer afford to buy.”
The Homes and Communities Agency funded 6,123 Rent to Buy properties under the National Affordable Housing Programme 2008/11, which were completed between 2008 and 2016. A further 4,169 were funded in London by the Greater London Authority, completed between 2008 and 2015.
In response to Freedom of Information Act requests by Inside Housing, both organisations confirmed they are not keeping data on the amount of Rent to Buy homes sold.
The Times reported last month that the Department for Communities and Local Government is pitching for a major expansion of Rent to Buy in next week’s Budget.
Inside Housing Spotlight
Inside Housing Spotlight is a series of pieces showcasing the best of our investigative and data journalism.
Spotlight pieces:
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9 November 2018: First Priority - the inside story of a housing association which almost went bust When a small supported housing provider entered into a series of leasing deals with investment funds, it nearly spelled disaster for its vulnerable tenants. We investigate why.
12 October 2018: The ballad of Knowsley Housing Trust the inside story of the first housing association made non-compliant by the sector's watchdog for fire safety issues
13 September 2018: How tweaked building guidance led to combustible insulation on high rises: an investigation shows how lobbyists from the plastic insulation industry supported a quiet tweak to building guidance to permit combustible insulation on tall buildings
31 August 2018: The true cost of homelessness Freedom of Information requests reveal the soaring costs of temporary accommodation
30 August 2018: The forgotten threat to high rise tenants We investigate the threat posed by combustible window panels on social housing high rises
13 June 2018: The Biggest Ever Survey of Fire Risk Assessments Data journalism revealing widespread fire safety issues in more than 1,500 tower blocks across the country
12 April 2018: A Section 106 Story An investigation into allegations of "sham transactions" involving Section 106 deals in south London
23 March 2018: The Paper Trail: The Failure of Building Regulations A lengthy investigation into the failures of building regulation that may have contributed to the Grenfell Tower disaster, and the many missed warnings
23 February 2018: The Kingspan Papers Leaked meeting notes reveal some worrying issues, including allegations of fire safety report doctoring by manufacturers
9 February 2018: Gentoo: a Sunderland story We look back at the recent history of Sunderland’s largest housing association.
25 January 2018: Homeless families face long stays in council-owned hostels we reveal how councils in London are skirting the law by using hostels to house people in temporary accommodation for more than six weeks
7 December 2017: Council house to private rent We reveal the percentage of former Right to Buy homes in the private rented sector has passed 40%
17 November 2017: Rent to buy, or rent to rent? A look at how successful the government's Rent to Buy schemes have been
7 September 2017: Once upon a time in the west The history of KCTMO in the years before the Grenfell Tower fire
11 August: 2017 Grenfell: The paper trail - our news editor Pete Apps examines seven years of council documents to tell a story of the missed opportunites to prevent the Grenfell tragedy
4 August 2017 : Knowing the risks – the most common fire safety problems in tower blocks
26 May 2017: Rents hiked for RTB replacements – Sophie Barnes reveals less than half of Right to Buy replacement homes are for social rent
12 May 2017: A stark warning – a prescient piece looking at lessons to be learned from the Shepherds Bush tower block fire
13 April 2017: Where the axe will fall – a look at plans to axe housing benefit for younger people
10 Feb 2017: Circle of Despair – the inside story of Circle's repairs and maintenance troubles
3 Feb 2017: The Benefit Cap Tightrope – Sophie Barnes unveils the first exclusive analysis of the lower benefit cap
