London Boroughs to Lose Thousands of Council Homes in First Five Years of New Right to Buy

Around 3,500 council homes would have to be sold in three London boroughs during the first five years of the government’s new right to buy.  Local authorities, including Camden, Haringey, Islington and Enfield, commissioned research ahead of the Queen's Speech to investigate how much of their 'higher-value' housing stock would be at risk from the policy. They found;

·         Selling off empty properties is not likely to be enough to pay for the right to buy discounts, to compensate housing associations for loss of asset, to build replacement homes and also contribute to a brownfield fund.

·         There would be an estimated time lag of at least two years from the sale of homes to replacement ones being built.

·         Families unable to get a council tenancy would face the prospect of remaining in overcrowded homes

·         Homeless households would have to enter or remain in temporary accommodation

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