0:05 AM, 4th September 2024, About 4 months ago 17
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Angela Rayner is reportedly considering abolishing the controversial Right to Buy scheme, just months after it was revealed she personally profited from it.
The Daily Telegraph has learned that the deputy Prime Minister and housing secretary, who sold her former council home in Stockport for a profit of £48,500 after purchasing it at a discounted rate through Right to Buy, is now weighing the option of ending the scheme for new council homes.
In Parliament, Ms Rayner also refused to rule out scrapping the single person discount of 25% for council tax.
That could affect all single renters from young people to pensioners who have also lost their winter fuel payment of £300 per year.
She also told MPs that there are no plans for increasing council tax in England.
The Telegraph says that the decision to end Right to Buy comes as more than 100 local authorities called for the scheme to be scrapped.
A report commissioned by Southwark Council found that the scheme has cost councils £2.2 billion and exacerbated housing shortages.
Right to Buy was introduced by Margaret Thatcher which allows council tenants to buy their homes at a discount of up to 70%.
While it enabled lots of council tenants to become homeowners, it has also lead to a drop in council housing stock.
Ms Rayner used a 25% discount to buy her former council house in Stockport for £79,000 via the Right to Buy scheme in 2007.
Controversially, she later sold it and pocketed £48,500.
According to government data, the Right to Buy scheme has seen 26,000 homes being sold on average every year.
Discounts can be as high as £75,000 outside of London, and £100,000 in London.
The Telegraph reports that the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, has refused to rule out abolishing Right to Buy for newly built council homes in the October Budget.
A spokesman said: “We are facing the most acute housing crisis in living memory and that is why we are working at pace to reverse the continued decline in the number of social rent homes.”
An analysis by the i newspaper reveals that in some areas of England, single people could lose more than £600 if the council tax discount is binned.
By losing the 25% discount, single parents and pensioners who are widowed will be among those to lose out.
When questioned in the Commons on Monday, Ms Rayner would not commit to maintaining it.
That’s when Kemi Badenoch, the shadow communities and local secretary, told MPs: “It’s been reported that the Secretary of State is being lobbied to increase council tax and remove discounts like the single occupant discount.
“Will she take this opportunity to reassure the House that the Government has no plans to increase council tax as they assured us before the election?”
Ms Rayner replied: “Yes.”
David
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Sign Up12:19 PM, 4th September 2024, About 4 months ago
Couldn't make it up .First as a Labour politician she should not have even been tempted to use Thatcher's Right to Buy and profit from it and should now pay back to the Treasury to assist the country, like the poor pensioners are having to.
northern landlord
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Sign Up13:26 PM, 4th September 2024, About 4 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Jo Westlake at 04/09/2024 - 10:34
Yes, I agree. Probably the values of many of these places was below market value because of their condition. Many buyers were essentially duped into buying them being attracted by the prospect of owning their own place. Suddenly they were faced with mortgage payments and repair bills so ended up financially worse off than before so ended up selling as soon as they could. Some 40% of right to buy properties that are sold used to end up in the PRS. Such properties are cheaper to buy for landlords and private buyers are not attracted if the bulk of surrounding homes are still council owned. Probably not a bad idea to stop right to buy or slash the discount. What is scandalous is the proposal to remove single person occupancy discounts from Council tax. Another whammy for pensioners many of whom live alone. It is people, not houses who use council services. The poll tax was basically fairer but look at what happened with that.
Stella
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Sign Up15:30 PM, 4th September 2024, About 4 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Retired GasMan at 04/09/2024 - 12:05
Rertired GasMan
It is on property 118, it first appeared yesterday at 9.14am
Author Ranjan Battacharya
Tenants' Right to buy at a discount:
Is it fair to Landlords?
Cider Drinker
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Sign Up18:35 PM, 4th September 2024, About 4 months ago
Right to Buy was only ever about buying votes with other people’s money.
Retired GasMan
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Sign Up6:42 AM, 5th September 2024, About 4 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Stella at 04/09/2024 - 15:30
Thanks Stella, I’ll have a read 👍
Neil Robb
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Sign Up8:25 AM, 5th September 2024, About 4 months ago
Lots of things not being mentioned here.
Not only did Angela Rayner gain from her council house discount . So did her partner now husband father of her children.
They both bought around the same year.
So they got two discounts.
Are we really ment to believe a care worker could pay a mortgage for five years . While her brother lived there rent free.
No one wants to look at this.
If it was sold before the five years some of the discount would need to be paid back.
Social housing rents are so low if they increased it would help with repair up grade programs.
Or building new houses without tax payer having to pay.
Many housing associations social houses have people living in them on good money.
There rent could be reviewed yearly . And a higher rent could be charged.
There is social housing tenants on over £100 k .
One was the mayor of Salford who lived in a social housing flat . His income was £130 k a year.
His response was I don't believe in home ownership.
Many social rents are very low . There was two TV programmes how to get a social house where rents in London were £100 to £140 a week . Some of these properties were worth a million pound or more many worth hundreds of thousands m
There was a four bed flat £340 a month not a week.
New build where builders had to do so many social housings flats . £500k two bed and the new tenant demanded they be given two parking spaces.
As her and her adult children would be living there with Thier family.
Only when they said no we will take you off the housing list did they then accept the flat.
Imagine paying a £500 k mortgage and your neighbour on benefits is only paying a few hundred pounds a month.
In Northern Ireland the housing executive have 82000 properties rents between £280 to £400 this includes rates bill. (Council tax ).
Not everyone in these properties are on benefits. Many work if rents were increased by £20 a week this would raise £85 million a year. If it was £40 a week it would be £170 million a year.
I would imagine this would be similar across the UK.
Is homeless as bad as the government shelter generation rent acorn tenants union would have us belief . Many could be on multiple lists.
Closing the rents between private and social housing would reduce the homeless list.
Many think they don't need to pay rent or live in an antisocial way then expect to be rehoused.
If you don't pay your mortgage you are repossessed . No one says you paid thousands over the years here is some back .
Desmond
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Sign Up13:52 PM, 5th September 2024, About 4 months ago
I think of it as otherwise lifelong subjects of the benefit state gaining financial freedom. What good is the precious housing stock if the current patrons are stuck in it all their lives anyway? Must our problems be due to Thatcherite housing policy, and not for example an immigration-ponzi economic system?
I might agree that it fails if most buyers sell up and seek social housing again, but I don't think there is proof of that.
One benefit I have perceived over the years while living in the same house (bought under RTB by my parents) is gradual gentrification of some quite unpleasant areas. I don't wish make judgement of balaclava wearing motorbike riders pulling wheelies down the road - other than to note this is part of a suite of activity that is more prevalent around social housing.