Ministry launches consultation on proposed Right to Buy reforms proposed including longer minimum tenancy before purchase
The Government is to consult on a raft of changes to the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme including extending the length of time someone has to be a tenant before they can buy their home and protecting newly built social homes from sale through exemptions.
Measures put forward in the consultation paper issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government include:
- increasing the three-year minimum tenancy period for tenants to be eligible to apply under the scheme;
- reviewing the current exemptions to the scheme and whether newly built social homes should be exempt for a given period to encourage council investment in new homes;
- seeking views on the replacement of homes with an emphasis on more social rent homes and if there should be a target to replace all future sales on a one-for-one basis; and
- increasing the period in which councils have the right to ask for repayment of all or part of the discount received when a property is sold from five to ten years.
The Government has already reduced the maximum Right to Buy discounts to £16,000 - £38,000 depending on the area in its first Autumn Budget.
Councils can also retain all of the receipts from sales, including the share that previously went to the Treasury.
The Ministry noted that fewer than 48,000 social homes have been built or acquired using Right to Buy receipts since 2012, despite more than 124,000 council homes being sold through the scheme across the same period.
It insisted, however, that the Government remains committed to the Right to Buy scheme, “which is an integral way for social tenants to get on the property ladder".
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Angela Rayner said: “For millions of people in the position I was once in, that first step into the secure social housing that changed my life has become a distant dream.
“Too many social homes have been sold off before they can be replaced, which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory.
“We cannot fix the crisis without addressing this issue – it’s like trying to fill a bath when the plug’s not in.”
She added: “A fairer Right to Buy will help councils protect and increase their housing stock, while also keeping the pathway to home ownership there for those who otherwise might not have the opportunity to get on the housing ladder.”
Cllr Adam Hug, Housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “The LGA has long called for reform to Right to Buy as the system in its current format does not work for local authorities and those most in need of social housing.
“Steps taken by government already this year to amend the scheme are positive, and the measures set out in this consultation will help further in supporting the replacement of sold homes and to stem the continued loss of existing stock.
“Councils are keen to deepen our collaboration with the Government to increase affordable housing and help people on council housing waiting lists and record numbers stuck in temporary accommodation.”
The consultation, which is available here, closes on 15 January 2025.
Harry Rodd
