Response to announcement of Right to Buy suspension in Moray
18 May 2010
Gordon MacRae, Head of Communications and Policy at Shelter Scotland, the housing and homelessness charity, today (Tuesday) welcomed the suspension of Right to Buy in areas of Moray. (1)
He said: “Right to Buy has been popular in Moray, but too often at the expense of providing homes to families. Nearly 2,000 homes in Moray have been lost to the social rented sector over ten years. (2)
“Across Scotland nearly 200,000 households are stuck on waiting lists with demand continuing to outstrip supply. Pressured area status is one of the few tools available to local authorities like Moray to limit the sale of homes.
He added: “The Scottish Government has already taken steps to amend Right to Buy through the current Housing Bill. However these can go further for example, by scrapping Right to Buy for all people transferring from one home to another and extending the modernised Right to Buy for existing tenants through the Housing Bill.
“But putting an end to Right to Buy will not provide a solution to the lack of affordable housing in Moray or any other area. To get to the root of the problem, MSPs must put housing at the heart of the political agenda.”
