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Right to Buy Back

News that half a million landlords are planning to sell their buy-to-let property, or properties, is a unique opportunity to rebuild council housing stocks. 

A significant proportion of homes in the private rented sector were built as council homes - about 38% according to Inside Housing. A recent report by Savills, commissioned the LGA, Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH) and National Federation of ALMOs, estimates that 100,000 homes are likely to be sold through Right to Buy by 2030, with just 43,000 created in their place. 

Right to Buy discounts leave councils without the necessary funding to replace properties lost, let alone increase the number of councils homes overall. This conundrum explains the thinking behind Right to Buy Back - a scheme launched by the Mayor of London in 2021. 

As the name suggests, it gives councils the funding to purchase ex-council homes back. 1,577 properties across fourteen London boroughs are in council hands once again, contributing to achieving the Mayor's target of reaching 20,000 new council homes by 2024. 

With a sufficient national funding pot and flexibility for local authorities to borrow sensibly (this is a sound investment), Right to Buy Back could undo some of the damage done by Right to Buy and give a new generation hope that an affordable, secure and decent home is within reach. Following Scotland's example of ending Right to Buy - or at least suspending/reforming it - should be seriously considered by all political parties. 

Right to Buy Back is more than a housing policy; it is a public health policy and an economic policy too. It is both radical and practical. 

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