Right to buy: 'We need more publicly-owned housing stock'

THE right to buy policy was a flagship of Maggie Thatcher's Tory Government and who could deny that it has been a great success?

Since it was launched almost 30 years ago more than half a million Scots have taken advantage of it to buy their own homes And it is almost certain that without it many would still be paying rent today.

It was successful because through meeting certain requirements with regard to length of tenancy those seeking to purchase their own home were given substantial discounts on the real value of the property – up to a maximum of 70 per cent. And with many having already paid rent for years who is to say they were not entitled to then buy on the cheap?

But while the policy was a great social success it soon became apparent that there was also a downside. Council homes in "better areas" were snapped up more quickly, reducing the overall quality of housing stock to the point where fewer and fewer of the more desirable homes became available for rental.

The legacy of this remains to be seen in Edinburgh where due to a chronic shortage of affordable housing almost 150 people are chasing the average council home as demand grows to record levels.

Last year more than 400,000 bids were made for just 2700 council homes that became available, with more than 1000 applications being common for a single house in areas where people most wanted to live.

But these figures reflect a greater problem – not brought about solely by the right to buy policy. There is a chronic shortage of affordable housing, in both the public and private sectors in Edinburgh – a crisis that will surely only deepen.

City leaders have long bemoaned the fact that the Capital, which has 74 per cent of Scotland's housing need, receives just 15 per cent of investment and, although it recently received more cash, is still some way short of the estimated 2 billion needed to build the 12,000 affordable homes needed over the next ten years.

New-build progress has not only been slow in Edinburgh. Since the right to to buy policy was introduced, less than one tenth of the number of houses sold off have been replaced by cash strapped local authorities and social landlords.

Yesterday the Scottish Government announced that it was holding a consultation on the idea of bringing down the shutters on the right to buy. While some might not agree with such a move the logic of it cannot be denied.

There is little incentive for Edinburgh or other social landlords to build any new homes if they know that tenants can remove them from their ownership within five years. It may seem harsh on those who may miss out but at this particular time it is arguably more important to increase publicly owned stocks rather than see them further depleted.