Boris Johnson pondering right to buy for housing association tenants
Boris Johnson is considering reviving Margaret Thatcher’s right-to-buy scheme by giving people the chance to purchase the properties they rent from housing associations at a discounted price.
The idea, designed to help “generation rent” and prove the government is still committed to its Conservative principles amid unrest from some backbenchers, is being worked up by officials in the No 10 policy unit, with reports that up to 2.5 million households could become eligible to buy their homes at a discount of up to 70%.
But housing experts warned the policy amounted to the sell-off of affordable homes during the cost-of-living crisis and called instead for an increase in housebuilding. Polly Neate, the chief executive of Shelter, criticised the “hare-brained idea” as “the opposite of what the country needs”.
Ministers are also considering whether to allow banks to take into account taxpayer money received by those who claim housing benefit when they are seeking a mortgage.
To help boost housing stocks, the government is contemplating axing the rule that developers must build a set number of affordable homes in favour of making them pay into an infrastructure fund that councils can then use to fund their own projects.
Housing reforms have fallen by the wayside after the government backed down in the face of a huge backlash from Tory MPs over changes to planning rules.
The Daily Telegraph cited a source saying Johnson was “very excited” about rejuvenating Thatcher’s right-to-buy policy, with the roughly 2.5 million households living in housing association property becoming eligible to buy their homes.
Right to buy became one of the legacy decisions of Thatcher’s era and allowed council tenants to purchase their properties at a
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