You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Welsh Assembly rejects amendment to delay Right to Buy ban
Welsh Assembly members (AMs) have voted down Conservative attempts to delay banning the Right to Buy in Wales.
The Welsh Government launched a bill to abolish council tenants’ right to buy their home at a discount in March.
Ministers proposed that the ban should come into effect for existing stock a year after the bill receives royal assent to give people time to adjust to the change.
In the Senedd yesterday, Tory AMs put forward an amendment to extend that period to at least two years – but the revision was rejected by 35 votes to 15.
READ MORE
David Melding, AM for South Wales Central and the Welsh Conservatives housing spokesperson, argued that a two-year delay would dampen a spike in sales and “provide reassurance to tenants that they still have a significant amount of time left should they wish to proceed with their homes”.
He warned that news of the ban would “land like a bombshell” on some households.
But housing minister Rebecca Evans said the 12-month wait was “fair and reasonable” and gives tenants enough time to take advice on buying their homes.
All other amendments were also thrown out, with AMs due to take a final vote on the bill next Tuesday.
Social housing stock in Wales has dropped 45% since the Right to Buy was introduced in 1980, with around 139,000 homes sold.
Welsh Labour promised to abolish the policy during the 2016 Assembly election.
Six of the 11 stock-retaining councils in Wales – Anglesey, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Cardiff – have already suspended the Right to Buy under legislation introduced through the Housing (Wales) Measure 2011.
