Call for end to Right-to-Buy
30 July 2012
We have issued a response to the Scottish Government's recently launched consultation on right-to-buy, calling for the out-dated policy to be scrapped.
Our response shows how a policy designed for the 1970s has no place in today’s Scottish housing landscape and abolition is the best way of protecting the supply of council houses.
Other than abolition, we would only support reforms where all tenants are moved to modernised terms – with much smaller discounts and longer qualification periods.
The policy has no place in today’s housing system where demand for social homes continues to outstrip supply by some distance.
Graeme Brown
Director of Shelter Scotland
The Scottish Government estimates that if right-to-buy was abolished 10,000 social homes would be saved between 2015 and 2020. That number would reduce to around 5,000 should the policy be reformed to modernised terms. A minimum of 10,000 new social homes a year are required to meet demand.
Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, says:
“Right-to-buy has greatly benefited many thousands of council tenants who have been able to buy their home at a discount. But the good fortune of a few has come at the cost of many more people having to go through the despair and frustration of sitting on council waiting lists for months and years. A cost is also incurred by the local authority that paid for the houses, as they are forced to sell them off at a big discount.
“Years of tampering with right-to-buy has left the legislation complex and confusing. Shelter Scotland’s preferred option is to scrap right-to-buy and consign it to the history books. The policy has no place in today’s housing system where demand for social homes continues to outstrip supply by some distance.
“We estimate 10,000 new homes a year need to be built. By protecting existing and future council house stock, local authorities will be much more inclined to invest in social housing. That’s why we are calling for the abolition of right-to-buy and investment in a social housing system that meets current and future demand in Scotland.”
Read our full response to the Scottish Government's consultation on Right-to-Buy.
