To consider the following Motion in the names of Councillors J Lawson and Davies;
“This Council
notes:
1)
The Conservative Government, under Margaret
Thatcher, introduced the Right to Buy scheme in the United Kingdom.
The Right to Buy scheme allows eligible council tenants and tenants
in housing associations to purchase their council property, often
at a discounted rate;
2)
When the Right to Buy scheme was introduced in
England and Wales in 1980, it was designed to help
‘generation rent’ to get on the property ladder and was
seen by some as a means to encourage homeownership and social
mobility. Since 1980, more than two million homes have been sold
under the scheme;
3)
Government figures released in February 2024, which
show that 22,023 social homes were either sold or demolished in
England in 2023, while 9,561 social homes were built, a net loss of
12,462 homes. In the past 10 years, there has been a total loss of
177,487 social homes, while over 1.28 million households in England
are currently on council waiting lists for social housing. This is
at a time when local authorities in England spent a record
£2.29 billion a year in providing emergency temporary
accommodation for homeless households between April 2023 and March
2024, a 29% increase from the previous year. In any one year in
Kirklees, there are between 19,000 and 20,000 people waiting for a
council property, but only around 1,700 to 1,800 homes become
available in any given year;
4)
According to the think-tank, the New Economics
Foundation (NEF), over 40% of council houses and flats sold under
the Right to Buy scheme across the country are now owned by private
landlords. In the last 10 years alone, over 109,000 former council
homes have started being let privately.
This
Council believes that:
1)
Although the
Right to Buy scheme has increased home ownership and has made home
ownership more accessible to some, the failure to
replacehomes sold through the scheme has
hindered its success. Although there was a commitment to the
building of replacement social homes for each one sold when the
scheme was set up, less than 5% of homes sold off through the Right
to Buy scheme have been replaced since the policy was
introduced;
2)
Increasingly, it is
evident that the Right to Buy scheme has failed. It has largely
exacerbated rather than alleviated the housing crisis in the UK.
While thousands of homes are sold through Right to Buy each year,
the number of replacement homes falls drastically short, resulting
in a net loss of social homes. This is at a time when the private
sector isn’t building enough affordable homes and local
authorities are unable to do so. While local authorities, including
Kirklees Council, endeavour to respond to escalating demand for
housing, vulnerable households find themselves locked out of safe
and secure social housing;
3)
The Right to
Buy scheme effectively forces many households into private renting,
when the properties were built originally with the intention to
reduce pressure on social housing waiting lists;
4)
Allowing
tenants to buy their council home has depleted the stock of
affordable housing for those in need, resulting in demand far
exceeding supply and resulting in rents going up and homelessness
increasing;
5)
Tackling the
housing crisis should be one of the biggest priorities in the UK
and for the new Labour Government. This Council believes that the
loss of our country’s social housing stock can, in part, be
addressed by reforming the Right to Buy scheme;
6) This Council support proposals outlined by the Local Government Association (LGA) to reform the Right to Buy scheme. Measures to reform the scheme, including some proposed by the LGA, include:
·
Giving local
authorities, including Kirklees Council, the flexibility to shape
the Right to Buy scheme locally, so it works best for their local
area, people and housing market. This includes giving the right for
councils to discontinue the Right to Buy scheme in their area.
Councils should also be able to set the discount levels on which
homes can be purchased, and in some areas, this could be at 0%.
This localised approach ensures that housing solutions reflect the
needs and aspirations of local communities.
·
Protecting a
council’s investment in social housing to prevent loss-making
transactions. This could be achieved by increasing the tenancy
requirements to enable Right to Buy to 15 years, for example,
exempting newly built and retrofitted homes from Right to
Buy, and introducing an indefinite cost-floor
protection so the purchase price of the property does not fall
below what councils have invested to build and maintain
homes.
·
Giving local
authorities control over the use of funds raised through the Right
to Buy, enabling them to invest in the development, delivery or
acquisition of new council homes as per local needs. Local
authorities, such as Kirklees Council, understand their local
housing needs and the solutions required for their communities
best.
7)
If the
Government adopts the reforms set out by the LGA, it could allow
local authorities to regain their position as major builders of
affordable housing. We must safeguard the future of social housing
and uphold the fundamental right for everyone to have safe and
secure housing. In essence, the current form of the Right to Buy
scheme does not work for local authorities and it is vital that the
Government overhauls the existing scheme, which has resulted in our
social housing stock significantly diminishing. This would benefit
our residents and communities in Kirklees and across the
UK;
This Council, therefore,
resolves to:
Instruct the Leader of the Council to write a letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, Angela Rayner MP, to ask the Government to consider the LGA’s proposals for reform to the Right to Buy scheme as a matter of urgency, grant local authorities the power to set the Right to Buy discount locally, including discontinuing the scheme, and to make permanent the 100% retention of Right to Buy receipts. The scheme, as it exists, must be significantly reformed to help serve the needs of our diverse communities.”