8th
Jul 2021
Sadiq Khan has revealed his plans for all London authorities to buy back landlord properties that were originally council homes.
The 1980 Housing Act featured the Right to Buy scheme for council tenants who had lived in their homes for over three years the opportunity to buy their houses well below the going market rate, which has seen over 300,000 London council homes being bought.
Although Right to Buy sales has fallen in the last five years, the London mayor states that the scheme has caused a massive impact on the availability of council homes in the capital.
Khan says that the policy has not fulfilled its original intention of increasing owner occupation and according to him there are now 40 per cent of council sold homes owned by private landlords housing authorities’ homeless families, which forced them to sell into the PRS.
The Mayor’s Right to Buy-back scheme will make funds available to councils and council owned housing companies to buy back homes which will then be let out to at social rent prices and to house homeless families.
All homes bought through this scheme had to meet the government’s Decent Homes Standard.
Due to changes in the tax laws affecting the private rented sector, many smaller landlords are looking to sell their properties, Khan wants the properties to be sold back to the councils, rather than to other landlords.
The Mayor states that over the last 40 years councils have seen their funding and staff with the necessary knowledge to build more council homes, drastically reduced.
Khan says: “For more than 40 years, London’s precious council homes have been disappearing into the private sector, often never to be replaced. It’s time for that to change.
“We’re not only helping councils to build thousands of new council homes, but we’re giving them the resources to buy back former council homes through our Right to Buy-back scheme. In the midst of a housing affordability crisis it feels grossly unfair and unjust that more than four in ten council homes sold through the Right to Buy in London are now in the hands of private landlords. These were, after all, homes built for the public good.
“I am proud that we have brought council homebuilding back up to levels not seen since the 1980s and I’m encouraged by the enthusiasm I see from boroughs across London for building new council homes. Fixing the housing crisis is going to take time, but this new Right to Buy-back scheme is an innovative new tool that will help to take another step in the right direction.”
Richard Merrick of PIMS said:” I wonder how much below the current market value landlords will be forced to sell back to the councils?”
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