Right to Buy Reform 08/11/2024

The Labour manifesto promised a review of the increased Right to Buy discounts introduced in 2012.  The outcome of the review was published alongside the Budget.  It notes that, although a one-for-one replacement scheme was introduced alongside the increased discounts, it has failed to meet its objective, with 124,000 homes sold between April 2012 and March 2024, but only 48,000 replaced.

While not proposing the abolition of RTB, the review finds that "councils should not be losing homes through RTB quicker than they can be replaced. The scheme must be reformed to better protect the existing stock of social rented homes, provide better value for money for the taxpayer and ensure fairness within the system.  Discounts should be at a level that enables councils to replace the property sold whilst ensuring that tenants who have lived in, and paid rent on their social homes for many years, retain the opportunity to own their home."

The review concludes that maximum discounts should be returned to their pre-2012 levels. These are:

A Statutory Instrument to achieve this was laid before Parliament on 30 October and intends to come into force on 21 November. The SI also increases the cost floor period from 15 to 30 years to ensure that the purchase price of the property does not fall below what has been spent on building, buying, repairing, or maintaining it over this period.

A consultation paper will be issued 'shortly' seeking views on wider reforms to the RTB scheme. These are likely to include increasing the number of years tenancy required to qualify for RTB, as trailed in the media.