Social landlords are lobbying the government to minimise the impact of the extended Right to Buy policy as the Queen’s Speech this week confirmed it will go ahead.
Under the government’s scheme, the Right to Buy will be extended to 1.3 million housing association tenants, funded by forcing councils to sell high-value stock.
However, the government has yet to confirm many key details of how the policy will work and landlords are now in wide-ranging discussions to try and shape the policy.
According to Inside Housing:
A prominent housing sector figure, currently involved in negotiations with government, said sector figures are trying to establish the level of ‘political will’ behind the introduction of the policy as this would be key in deciding how much mitigation could be achieved.
Landlords are understood to be pushing for the government to bring in the policy in the form of an extension of the current Right to Acquire, which would not require primary legislation. This would mean homes built or bought by housing associations before 31 March 1997 would be excluded.
Catherine Hand, a partner at law firm Trowers & Hamlins, said the Queen’s Speech briefing document suggests an extension of Right to Acquire. She said this was because of a reference to specific regulations relating to the Right to Acquire, and wording which talked about extending discounts rather than introducing new ones.
Housing associations are also expected to lobby for adequate compensation to allow them to replace stock and for reassurance that there will not be a significant time lag between selling a home and receiving compensation.
Tony Stacey, chief executive of the Placeshapers group, representing more than 100 housing associations, is calling for a ‘cost floor’ – a value below which homes would not be sold.
Mr Stacey also said he would be taking legal advice on challenging the policy when more detail is announced.
Rural housing associations are calling for exemptions from the policy, arguing that developmentopportunities are less common in rural areas and that homes subject to the Right to Buy would be less likely to receive planning permission under ‘rural exception’ rules, which require homes to be affordable in perpetuity.
Sue Chalkley, chief executive of Hastoe Housing Association, said: ‘We will be combining with the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) to call for an exemption for rural areas.’
The government has declined to provide any more detail at this stage.
QUEEN’S SPEECH: OTHER HOUSING-RELATED POLICIES
- Build 200,000 discounted Starter Homes for young first-time buyers
- Lower the benefit cap from £26,000 to £23,000 and remove automatic housing benefit entitlement for 18 to 21-year-olds.
- Freeze most working age benefits, tax credits and child benefit for two years from 2016/17
- Extend the Troubled Families programme
- Require councils to support self-builders identify plots of land
- Introduce brownfield land register, to get 90% of suitable brownfield land development-ready
- Simplify the neighbourhood planning system
- Hand powers over welfare to Scotland through the Scotland Bill
- Give greater local control over housing to cities with elected metro mayors
- New visa levy on businesses that use foreign labour
- Roll out scheme forcing landlords to check tenants’ migration status and make it easier to evict illegal migrants
- Create a new Youth Allowance for 18 to 21-year-olds with stronger work-related conditionality