Two and a half million tenants renting their homes from housing associations will be given the right to buy them outright, the Prime Minister announced on Thursday 9 June.
In a speech, he confirmed an extension of the popular Right to Buy scheme, which has made home ownership a reality for two million households since the 1980s.
Currently, tenants in council homes are eligible to buy their homes at a discounted price, up to 70% off the market value dependent on how long they have lived there. However, the scheme is less generous for those in homes owned by housing associations.
Extending the scheme could benefit up to 2.5 million tenants who would gain the right to buy, freeing them up to become homeowners, and add value and make improvements to their home as they wish. It will also work for taxpayers and be responsibly capped at a level that is fully paid for; affordable within the government’s existing spending plans, and with one-for-one replacement of each social housing property sold.
The government will work closely with the housing association sector on the design of the scheme.
Social housing will always play an important role in our society, so the Prime Minister will also commit to the building of replacement social homes for each one sold.
More information will follow. You can read about existing Right to Buy scheme.