Scottish Ministers urged to end tenants’ right to buy

The charity Shelter Scotland said the move would encourage local authorities to invest more in social housing.

With 156,000 households on the waiting list for a council property, 10,000 new social houses are needed a year to meet current demand, Shelter Scotland believes.

But in the last decade 92,000 council properties have been sold through right-to-buy which allows tenants to purchase their home at a discounted price, according to the charity.

Since the entitlement was established during Margaret Thatcher’s rule, about 455,000 homes have been bought, with almost two-thirds of properties in Scotland now owner-occupied,

About 534,000 tenants have the right-to-buy their council or housing association home, with 207,000 entitled to a discount of up to 70 per cent.

The Scottish Government is now consulting on reforming the policy. One option being considered is scrapping the policy completely.

In a response to the consultation, Shelter Scotland said right-to-buy should be abolished.

Failing that, it would only support major reform of the policy so that all tenants qualify for a modernised scheme, with smaller discounts where they have had to wait longer in order to be eligible to buy their home.

Shelter Scotland director Graeme Brown said: “Right-to-buy has greatly benefited many thousands of council tenants who have been able to buy their home at a discount.

“But the good fortune of a few has come at the cost of many more people having to go through the despair and frustration of sitting on council waiting lists for months and years.

“A cost is also incurred by the local authority that paid for the houses, as they are forced to sell them off at a big discount.

“Years of tampering with right-to-buy has left the legislation complex and confusing.

“Shelter Scotland’s preferred option is to scrap right-to-buy and consign it to the history books.

“The policy has no place in today’s housing system where demand for social homes continues to outstrip supply by some distance.

“We estimate 10,000 new homes a year need to be built.

“By protecting existing and future council-house stock, local authorities will be much more inclined to invest in social housing.

“That’s why we are calling for the abolition of right-to-buy and investment in a social housing system that meets current and future demand in Scotland.”

The traditional “preserved” form of right-to-buy offers discounts of up to 70 per cent on the market value of a flat, although it depends on how long a tenant has stayed there. This appears certain to be abolished.

The Scottish Government is consulting on whether the policy should be ditched completely, or all eligible tenants should be offered only “modernised” right-to-buy schemes, which means discounts of up to 35 per cent or £15,000, whichever is lower.

The SNP government has been restricting right-to-buy since coming to power.

It has been completely withdrawn for new tenants and all new-build housing.

The policy change already has the support of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations.