Right to Buy relaunched with £75,000 discounts

Permalink: Right to Buy relaunched with £75,000 discounts
by Gill Montia

The Government has launched a “reinvigorated” Right to Buy scheme that will provide £75,000 discounts to help social tenants into home ownership.

According to Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, 2.5 million social tenants now have the opportunity to buy their homes with dramatically increased discounts, after years of declining discounts made Right to Buy meaningless in many parts of the country.

Last year, fewer than 3,700 sales were made compared to a peak of 84,000 less than 10 years ago.

To help councils inform tenants of the new scheme, the Government is making a range of materials available outlining the changes and the steps tenants should take if they decide Right to Buy is the choice for them.

In addition, for the first time, homes sold under the revamped scheme will be replaced by new properties for affordable rent.

Councils can sign an agreement with the Government that allows receipts from sales to be used to build new affordable homes in their area, although the receipts will be expected to meet up to 30% of the costs.

Prime Minister, David Cameron, commented: “In the 80s, Right to Buy helped millions of people living in council housing achieve their aspiration of owning their own home.”

He added: “It gave something back to families who worked hard, paid their rent and played by the rules … it gave people a sense of pride and ownership not just in their home, but in their street and neighbourhood, helping to build strong families and stable mixed communities.”