More people could be stopped from buying their own homes under the Right to Buy scheme after new proposals were put forward.
Right to Buy gives social housing tenants a discount on the market value of their home. This was previously worth up to 70% off, up to a maximum of £102,400, or £136,400 in London. But in her Autumn Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed she was cutting the maximum discounts to £16,000, or to £38,000 for homes in London - taking them back to pre-2012 levels.
The Government has now issued a consultation where it has revealed other ways it wants to change Right to Buy, including increasing the length of time you need to be living in your property before you can access the scheme. Under current rules, you can use Right to Buy once you have been a social housing tenant for three years. This doesn't have to be three years in a row.
But under new proposals, this could be raised to five years, ten years, or more than ten years. The consultation is also seeking views on whether to ban new-build homes from the scheme. You can currently use Right to Buy on a property that is more than three years old - but the proposals are looking to increase this time to between ten and 30 years or "permanently".
Right to Buy was introduced in 1980. Under the existing scheme, you might be able to purchase your home at a discounted rate through Right to Buy the property you're living in is your only or main home and you're a secure tenant with a public sector landlord. This can be a council, housing association or NHS trust.
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. 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.”
But Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow housing secretary, said: “Labour are now pulling up the drawbridge on home ownership and limiting aspiration and social mobility. It's the height of hypocrisy for Angela Rayner to constrain the policy that helped her move onto and up the housing ladder.”