Tory Minister Feared Risks From Right-To-Buy Homes Sell-Off Plan

The Observer can reveal that former housing minister Kris Hopkins wrote a letter in late 2013 in which he made it clear that the idea of forcing housing associations to sell off housing was fraught with risk.  In the letter, Hopkins said: “Unlike local authorities, housing associations are independent, not-for-profit voluntary bodies and if they are obliged to consistently sell off their stock at less than market value they might find it difficult to borrow which could impact adversely on their repair and maintenance programmes and affect the future provision of affordable housing. The government does not consider that it would be reasonable to require housing associations to sell these properties at a discount. Any increase to the discount available under the Right to Acquire would only be possible through upfront central government subsidy, potentially incurring a high liability for the public purse.” Read more on the Observer website.