Right to Buy

This House notes that around 2 million council homes in England have been sold off to private individuals well below market value since the inception of the Right to Buy in 1980; further notes these homes were built using public money to create an essential collective asset fundamental to the post WWII settlement; believes Right to Buy has been abused by property speculators and has decimated precious social housing stock as successive governments failed to replace the social homes being lost; supports the 2022 UK Housing Review conclusion that Right to Buy was a strategic failure; is concerned that the state is now giving billions in housing benefit to private landlords that should be invested in building new council housing; recognises the link between Right to Buy and national house price bubbles, the harmful commodification of housing, housing inequality and shortages for people on low incomes, the current homelessness crisis and record rates of children living in temporary accommodation; further believes that council housing needs to be provided and safeguarded for the housing needs and wellbeing of current and future generations; welcomes the abolition of Right to Buy in Scotland and Wales; and calls on the Government to protect and strengthen social housing by following suit in England, at the same time as investing in an ambitious programme to build new council homes.