Communities and Local Government

Figures released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have revealed that 11,465 homes were sold by councils under the right to buy scheme in 2017/18, while only 4,944 were started or acquired to replace them using the receipts.

Since right to buy discounts were increased in April 2012 66,647 homes have been sold, while 17,911 have been started or acquired to replace them

Chartered Institute of Housing chief executive Terrie Alafat CBE said “It cannot be right that not only are we not building enough homes for social rent, we are losing them at a time when we need them more than ever. Our analysis shows that we have lost more than 150,000 social rented homes between 2012 and 2017 due to right to buy and other factors, and that figure will reach 230,000 by 2020 unless we take action now.