Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to preserving the country’s social housing stock, asserting that the Right to Buy scheme must not erode vital public assets.
Rayner, who in 2015 banked £48,500 profit from the sale of her ex-council home, spoke to Sky News emphasizing the importance of maintaining social housing. “People should have the Right to Buy,” she said, “but we can’t have a situation where taxpayers invest in social housing only to see it exit the system at a heavy discount, leaving housing associations and councils unable to replace them.”
The Labour government has launched a consultation on the future of the Right to Buy scheme, which allows social housing tenants to purchase their homes. The review comes as part of the government’s broader initiative to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years, with social housing expected to play a crucial role.
The country built approximately one million homes over the last five years. However, Rayner pointed to troubling figures showing that last year alone, 10,896 homes were sold under Right to Buy, while only 3,447 were replaced. Since the scheme’s inception in 1980, more than 2 million social homes have been sold, with 24,000 entering the private sector since 1991.
Under current rules, tenants who have lived in social housing for three years are eligible to purchase their homes at a discount—up to £102,400 in England, or £136,400 in London.
The Right to Buy scheme was introduced by former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as part of a wave of market-oriented reforms, becoming one of her most enduring legacies. However, critics argue that it has contributed to a long-term decline in social housing, exacerbating the UK’s housing crisis.
The government’s consultation aims to balance the scheme’s benefits with the need to ensure the continued availability of affordable homes. Rayner stressed that social housing would remain central to the government’s strategy for addressing the nation’s housing needs.