Right to Buy

Great news that the Conservatives are proposing to take the policy of "Right to Buy" to its' logical conclusion and extended to Housing Association tenants.

And don't let any of those who like big housing empires tell you that this will reduce social housing provision: it will increase it.

When a council or housing association property is sold to the tenant, it continues to house them. When they die or move on, it comes onto the market and houses another family. So it is not lost.

But if the sale receipt is used to build more housing - which is what is proposed - that is EXTRA housing provision. So Right to Buy, if properly managed, should INCREASE the total housing stock and help more of our young people find a home.

It also gives people more control over their own lives.

For an interesting comment - despairing of how badly his party have played this one - from one of the few Labour people who actually get the point on this subject, read Atul Hatwal's article on right to buy on the "Labour Uncut" blog at

http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2015/04/14/labours-blind-spot-on-right-to-buy-will-prove-costly/#more-19556

Comments

Anonymous said…
Why not extend the policy further and have a "Right to Buy" private rented houses?
6:46 pm
Chris Whiteside said…
There is a case for that but the moral and practical implications of giving someone else a right to buy the property of a private individual rather than that of a public company or authority, are much more difficult.

For example, it is almost certain that such a policy might scare off people who might otherwise rent out property which they temporarily don't need but expect to need in the future (people working abroad on a one-to-five year contract who intend to return, for instance).
12:50 pm
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