91探花

This week Labour has announced plans to clampdown on discounted sales of council houses through the right-to-buy scheme, to slow the sell-off of social housing and prevent homes from moving into the private sector. 

Government has also confirmed the right-to-buy policy will not be fully scrapped, despite calls from housing campaigners to abolish the scheme in order to increase the availability of council homes. 

John Guest, national head of social housing at 91探花, comments: “Government’s move to tighten up social housing sales highlights the continued pressure on the availability of affordable housing, with industry concerned about the level of housing development to support existing stock. 

“While right-to-buy sales can offer generous discounts to long-term tenants, the sale of these properties does reduce availability of social housing properties, as there isn’t the funding or labour available to replace them at the same rate. This is becoming increasingly difficult for housing associations to manage, as the funds generated from right-to-buy sales do not cover the costs of building new social housing and often end up in the private rental market, further widening the affordability gap.”

He added: “The government has outlined its plans to increase the supply of affordable and social housing through local planning reform. But there’s a balance to be had to make home ownership more affordable and possible for more households. Government therefore needs to address this in its upcoming Budget on the funding available for social housing associations, to ensure affordable housing stock is developed in line with accelerated housing targets.”