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Many Homes Sold Through Right to Buy Now Owned by Private Landlords
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
The Communities & Local Government Committee has warned the Government that many homes sold through the current Right to Buy scheme have ended up being rented out through private landlords.
Many Homes Sold Through Right to Buy Now Owned by Private Landlords
The committee revealed that landlords are letting 40% of ex-council homes sold through the controversial scheme at more expensive rent prices.
The warning arrives as the committee discussed the Government’s plans to extend the Right to Buy scheme to housing association tenants. The extension would be funded through forcing local authorities to sell off their most valuable assets.
The Government also expects housing associations to build one affordable home for every property sold.
The Chair of the Communities and Local Government Committee, Clive Betts MP, comments: “The fundamental success of this policy will depend not just on whether more tenants come to own their home, but on whether more homes are built.
“As a committee, we are concerned that there are a number of unresolved issues with the Government’s policy, which could have a detrimental effect on the provision of accessible and affordable housing, particularly affordable rented property.”
He continues: “The Government needs to set out in more details on how it will meet its target of at least one-for-one replacement of the sold homes, particularly given issues such as the availability of land, the capacity of the building industry and the uncertainty of income from council home sales.”1
The concerns were raised after the committee found that a large number of properties sold through the original scheme have quickly become private rental sector homes.
Its report states: “The committee believes the potential for selling social housing assets at a discount, only for them to become both more expensive and possibly lower quality housing in the private rented sector, is a significant concern. The committee recommends measures to restrict homes sold through the Right to Buy ending up in the private rented sector need to the explored.”1
1 http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/communities-and-local-government-committee/news-parliament-2015/right-to-buy-report-published-15-16/
