Right To Buy Replacements Slip Further Behind Target

The government has slipped further behind its Right to Buy replacements pledge, after 2,452 social homes were sold and just 837 replacements were started in the first quarter of 2018/19. The number of homes sold between April and June this year was a 13% drop on the same quarter last year, according to MHCLG figures. But the number of replacements was a 14% slide on the equivalent quarter last year. Download the figures from the MHCLG website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-housing-sales-including-right-to-buy-and-transfers

5,000 Council Houses Were Sold Off And No Replacements Built

Calls are growing for the government’s ‘Right to Buy’ policy to be suspended in Greater Manchester after it emerged that more than 5,000 council houses have been sold off across the region since 2012 - but not a single one built to directly replace them. The findings from Greater Manchester’s housing commission, part of the combined authority, reveal that despite government promising ‘one for one’ replacements for any home sold off over the last five years, nothing has in fact been built with the £27m generated from those sales due to heavy Whitehall restrictions on councils. Read more on the MEN website.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/calls-right-buy-policy-suspended-15154742

Government Proposes Dropping One-For-One Right To Buy Replacement Commitment

The government has proposed scrapping its commitment to replace homes sold through the Right to Buy on a like-for-like basis and instead using a new measurement that would include those built by housing associations. In 2012 the government pledged to replace homes sold as a result of the additional discounts on a one-for-one basis, but it began missing the commitment earlier this year. More than 66,000 council homes have been sold under the Right to Buy since 2012, while just 17,911 replacements have been started or acquired. Ministers have now published a consultation on the use of receipts from Right to Buy sales. Download the consultation from the Gov UK website.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/733469/Right_to_Buy_consultation.pdf

RTB Sales Decrease But Replacements Fall Short Of 1 For 1 Target

The latest government figures  show that sales of council housing under the Right to Buy (RTB) fell in the quarter to 31 March 2018 by 18% over the previous quarter, but the government continues to fall short of the promised one for one replacement of homes sold under the reinvigorated RTB from 2012. In Quarter 4 (January to March 2018), councils sold an estimated 2,772 dwellings under the RTB scheme compared to the 3,313 sold in the same quarter of 2016-17 this is a decrease of 18%. The average capital receipt per dwelling sold in quarter 4 2017-18 was £83,000. Under the government's one for one commitment made under the Reinvigorated RTB introduced in 2012, local authorities have 3 years from the date of the sale of each additional home to provide a replacement home, but can only use RTB receipts to a maximum of 30% of the cost of providing a replacement. Read more on the ARCH website.

http://www.arch-housing.org.uk/news/latest-news/rtb-sales-decrease-but-replacements-fall-short-of-1-for-1-target.aspx

Right To Buy Replacement Will Be All But Eliminated In Just Five Years

The current Right-to-Buy system only allows councils to keep a third of each RTB receipt to build a replacement home and prevents local authorities from borrowing to make up the shortfall. A new analysis by Savills, commissioned by the LGA, examined the impact of continued restrictions on councils’ ability to borrow to build new homes. It reveals that:

·         Two thirds of councils will have no chance of replacing homes sold off under Right to Buy on a one-for-one basis in five years’ time unless a significant restructuring of the scheme takes place.

·         Around 12,224 homes were sold under RTB last year. Faced with ongoing borrowing restrictions and based on the levels of sales remaining consistent, the analysis estimates that in 2023 councils would only be able to replace approximately 2,000 of these homes.

·         Less than a third of councils would be able to sustain any kind of one-for-one replacement of homes sold under the scheme in five years’ time.

Read more on the LGA website.

https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/right-buy-replacement-will-be-all-eliminated-just-five-years-warns-lga

Right To Buy ‘Devastating’ Social Housing Stock, New Figures Reveal

Council homes are being sold off almost three times faster than local authorities can replace them. Freedom of Information requests to 72 councils found more than 12,000 council houses have been sold off since 2014, to a cost of over £930m, while only 4,309 were built over the same time period. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron — whose party issued the FoI requests — said  ‘The Government talked a lot about replacing council housing one for one but this has been shown to be utter fantasy.’ A spokesman from the CLG denied the Government promised to replace every Right to Buy sale. They said it was ‘only additional sales’ above the original forecasted baseline that should be replaced one for one, adding it was up to councils to use the receipts from Right to Buy sales for new homes. Download the latest RTB figures from the Gov.UK website.

Housing Policies Outlined In Leaked Labour Manifesto

Labour would suspend the Right to Buy until councils could demonstrate they can replace sold homes like-for-like, according to a leaked version of the party’s manifesto. News outlets, including the BBC, claim to have seen a leaked version of the party’s election manifesto ahead of its official launch next week. According to the document, which is circulating online, Labour plans to moderate its pledge to suspend the Right to Buy. The leaked manifesto says councils will be allowed to continue selling homes under the policy if they can demonstrate a plan for like-for-like replacement. Read more on Inside Housing.

Right To Buy Extension Delayed Until At Least 2018

The national roll-out of Right to Buy for housing association tenants will not take place until after April 2018 at the earliest, with the sell-off of high-value council homes also delayed. Gavin Barwell, housing minister, said he had written to councils to tell them the government will not be requesting any high-value asset payments during 2017/18. Councils had called for the policy to be delayed from its expected start date of April 2017. He also confirmed the regional pilot of Right to Buy announced in yesterday’s Autumn Statement will test one-for-one replacement and portability of discounts, unlike the current pilot.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Reality Check: Are Right-To-Buy Homes Being Replaced As Promised?

The prime minister, Theresa May, has claimed that the government has met a promise to replace properties sold through the right-to-buy scheme on a one-to-one basis. Her claim was made in response to a question from the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who suggested that only one home was being built for every five sold through the scheme. Between April 2012 and the end of 2015, there were 49,573 right-to-buy sales. So, have those homes been replaced? No. Over that same period 4,594 new homes were started on site or acquired by councils. So just one in 10 of the sold-off properties were replaced. Read more on the Guardian website.

Housing Bill Is Being Demolished In The House Of Lords

Climbdowns being forced on the Housing Bill include:

1.       The Treasury has been blocked from keeping the proceeds of the forced sale of high-value council houses without parliamentary approval.

2.       The Government will consider a proposal to ensure a one-for-one - and like-for-like - replacement of council homes sold under the forced sale.

3.       Ministers have accepted a proposal to make it harder for landlords to evict vulnerable people that have abandoned their homes.

4.       A flagship scheme to hand well-off first-time buyers a taxpayer-funded 20% discount on a starter home has been moderated.

5.       Another defeat means English councils can decide how many starter homes are built in their area.

Read more on the Huffington Post.

Right to Buy Scheme - Parliamentary Written Answer

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that a home is built to replace every house sold through the Right to Buy scheme.

Brandon Lewis: Under the reinvigorated Right to Buy we are firmly committed to making sure that for every additional home sold an additional one will be provided. There is a rolling 3 year deadline for local authorities to deliver additional affordable homes through new build or acquisition under the reinvigorated Right to Buy, and so far they have delivered well within sales profile. By March 2013 after the first year of reinvigoration there had been 3,054 additional sales and by December 2015 there had been 4,594 starts and acquisitions, meaning councils are delivering within this 3 year profile.

Impacts Of Right To Buy On Housing Association Tenants

In July 2015, the Government confirmed the introduction of RTB level discounts for housing association tenants. The funding to compensate them should be made available by the forced sale of higher value local authority properties when they become vacant. Government intends that sold off stock will be replaced on a one-for-one basis. Importantly though, the replacement stock will not necessarily be of the same tenure as the housing it replaces.  A JRF report investigated the impacts of these policies under three scenarios:

1: Replacements built within three years and let at the same rents as the stock it replaced

2: Replacements built within three years and is let at Affordable Rents.

3: Replacements built for sale as shared ownership.

Although 1.3 million housing association tenants are gaining the RTB, JRF estimates that only around 180,000 of these appear to be able to afford to exercise this. Read more on the Sustainable Homes website.

Councils Demand To Replace Homes Sold Under Right-To-Buy

The latest Government figures on Right-to-Buy sales have provoked further calls from councils to be given the capacity to replace those sold on a full one-for-one basis. In 2014-15, 20,454 social homes were sold under RtB or preserved RtB, and of these 12,489 were local authority stock.  The Local Government Association’s housing spokesman, Councillor Peter Box, said it was “more important than ever” that councils be given the funding and power to fully replace those sold under Right-to-Buy. “The current scheme only allows councils to replace half or fewer of the homes they have sold. Councils need to be able to retain 100 per cent of receipts from sales while Right to Buy discounts should be set locally so they reflect the cost of houses in the area,” he added. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

New Lords Showdown Over Right-To-Buy Threat To Rural Areas

With many peers already uneasy about the effects of extending right-to-buy to housing associations, some are now raising concerns about the impact of the policies on country areas where low-cost properties to buy or rent are in short supply.  The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) demanded that country areas be exempted from the latest right-to-buy plans. “Rural areas already face a shortage of affordable homes and an ever-growing gap between wages and house prices,” said the campaign’s policy adviser. “As homes bought under the right-to-buy scheme are inevitably resold on the open market at prices way beyond the reach of those they were built for, families and young workers face the prospect of being forced out. The government has argued that each home sold under the scheme will be replaced. Yet replacements are not guaranteed to be built in the local area.” Read more on the Observer website.

Right to Buy: Agreement with Housing Associations – Parliamentary Written Statement

The Government is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with the National Housing Federation, which will extend Right to Buy discounts to at least 1.3 million more families across the country.

We want more people to be able to own a home of their own. The Right to Buy is a key part of this, and has already helped two million families to realise their dream of home ownership.

Until now, Right to Buy discounts have only been available to tenants in local authority properties and some former council properties. Extending these discounts to housing association tenants in England will end this unfairness, and will deliver our manifesto commitment to extend the Right to Buy to housing association tenants.

Under the agreement, all homes sold to tenants will be replaced on a one for one basis, delivering an overall increase in housing supply. Housing associations have a strong track record in the delivery of new homes, playing a major role in exceeding the Government’s 2011-15 affordable homes target by delivering nearly 186,000 homes.

The agreement will mean that the first housing association tenants will be able to start to buy their homes from next year.

Read more on the Parliament website.

CIPFA Warns Of Right To Buy 'Asset Stripping'

Plans by the Government to extend the Right to Buy scheme could effectively strip local authorities of their assets and drive a wedge between councils and the housing association sector, public finance experts have warned . The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) said that extending Right to Buy would only deepen the country’s housing crisis and result in less social housing being built.  In a report examining the impact of extending Right to Buy, CIPFA said that as local authorities would have to sell high value authority housing to pay for the scheme it would greatly reduce their ability to retain local social housing provision. This problem would only intensify unless the Government guarantees at least one for one replacement for every house sold in the areas of highest need. Read more on the CIPFA website.

MPs Question Right To Buy Data

Senior MPs have challenged the housing ministers over the data supporting the contentious Right to Buy policy. During an exchange at the Commons communities and local government committee, housing minister Brandon Lewis was forced to defend his use of data that he claimed showed the housing sector was meeting demands to replace public sector homes being sold to occupiers. The minister claimed during questioning that local authorities and housing associations had been meeting their obligation to build a house for every property sold under Right to Buy, a policy known as One for One. Lewis said: “At the moment the figures show they are on target. In London, they are ahead of that – they are at two for one. So that’s working.” Read more on 24dash.

Senior Tory Says Right-To-Buy Could Wipe Out ‘Swathes’ Of Social Housing

The leader of a flagship London Tory council has warned that David Cameron’s right-to-buy scheme could strip the capital of “huge swathes of social housing”. Westminster leader Philippa Roe admitted that the re-jigged initiative risks leaving boroughs unable to provide homes for people who need them. The Prime Minister wants to allow 1.3 million housing association tenants to purchase their property and has promised that each home sold will be replaced. But Ms Roe said associations were likely to use money from the sale of London homes to build a greater number of properties outside the capital, where development is cheaper. She said: “What we will see is a reduction in the number of social housing units in London and more units built outside. But the crisis in housing is inside London. So it is absolutely vital that the proceeds of right-to-buy from London are kept in London.” Read more on the Evening Standard website.

264 Sold Through Right to Buy and Zero Replaced

A local authority has been slammed by the government for not replacing a single property of the 264 homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme.  The response by the CLG came after Labour's London Assembly member for Waltham Forest, Jennette Arnold, accused the Treasury of "betrayal" for pocketing £86.7m of £412.7m raised by London councils through the council-home buying scheme. Housing minister Brandon Lewis revealed the figures in a letter to London-wide assembly member Tom Copley. He argued a proportion of income from Right to Buy sales continues to be paid to the Treasury as part of £862m owed by local authorities through a self-financing settlement introduced in 2012. Despite this agreement, Ms Arnold called on the government to pay it back and said the £87m shortfall was "contributing to a disturbing housing situation" in Waltham Forest.  Read more on the Waltham Forest Guardian.

Right to Buy – Parliamentary Oral Answer

John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab): Does the Secretary of State expect the replacement of housing association homes that are sold off to be the same as, above or below the rate for council homes previously sold off?

Greg Clark: As my hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning made clear, the requirement will be one-for-one replacement. With regard to council house sales, replacement of more than one for one has already been achieved for the first year.