Residents for Uttlesford (R4U) is delighted that its administration at Uttlesford District Council has completed the purchase of 19 new council homes but is concerned that the expansion of Right to Buy will remove many more affordable homes from those in need.
Arthur Coote (R4U)R4U’s Cllr Coote continued “Owning a home is an important aspiration for many, so it is great when a tenant no longer needs a council provided home. The downside of Right to Buy means that a council permanently loses an affordable house for someone who does need one. In fact, since the scheme began across the UK, 2 million houses have been lost that were available for social rent. Disappointingly the government’s scheme also forces councils to sell them at up to 70% below what they are worth. The result is that a local authority has to replace the lost council house at a much higher market cost, making Right to Buy an appalling value for the public purse. The situation has just been made worse. The government now intends to force Housing Associations, which are private social landlords, to do the same. In effect they are nationalising something they don’t own and then privatising it – and the losers are those that need an affordable home and those that provide them. Right to Buy has been abolished in Scotland and Wales, and Northern Ireland follows this year. We are writing to the Westminster government to urge that they do the same in England too and instead prioritise affordable homes for those most in need.”