Angela Rayner proposes stricter Right-to-Buy reforms despite personal profit from the scheme

Angela Rayner proposes stricter Right-to-Buy reforms despite personal profit from the scheme

0:03 AM, 22nd November 2024, About 7 hours ago

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Angela Rayner has proposed tougher new rules for the Right-to-Buy scheme, despite having profited from it herself.

The Deputy Prime Minister has launched a consultation which she claims will make the scheme “fairer and more sustainable.”

In 2007, Ms Rayner used a 25% discount to purchase her former council house in Stockport for £79,000 through the Right-to-Buy scheme. She later sold the property and pocketed a profit of £48,500.

Newly built social homes should be exempt from the scheme

Under the proposed Labour government consultation, the government aims to increase the minimum three-year tenancy period required for tenants to be eligible to apply under the Right-to-Buy scheme.

The government is looking at whether newly built social homes should be exempt for a certain time to encourage more investment in new council housing.

The consultation is also seeking views on extending the period during which councils can ask for repayment of all or part of the discount when a property is sold, from five to ten years.

The consultation also proposes changes to the minimum and maximum discounts as a percentage of the property value, applying the same rules to both houses and flats.

Worst housing crisis in living memory

Angela Rayner says the Right-to-Buy scheme has contributed to the “worst housing crisis in living memory”.

According to government figures, fewer than 48,000 social homes have been built or acquired using Right to Buy receipts since 2012, despite over 124,000 council homes sold through the scheme across the same period.

Ms 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 homeownership there for those who otherwise might not have the opportunity to get on the housing ladder.”

The consultation will be open for eight weeks and the government will publish its response in due course.


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