Ministers considering extending period before tenants eligible for Right to Buy

Ministers are mulling over extending the period before social housing tenants can buy their home under the Right to Buy scheme.

Angela Rayner also said she was considering a target to ensure social homes are replaced on a one-for-one basis in future when they are sold off to tenants, in a bid to tackle the housing crisis.

The Deputy Prime Minister insisted the Government was “keeping the pathway to home ownership there” while taking steps to address the supply of homes.

Too many social homes have been sold off before they can be replaced, which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory. We cannot fix the crisis without addressing this issue

But the Tories accused Ms Rayner, who bought her council house through the Right to Buy scheme in 2007, of “pulling up the drawbridge on home ownership”.

Under the measures being considered by the Government in a consultation, the current three-year eligibility period for tenants to apply for the Right to Buy scheme could be extended.

When social tenants are able to buy their home, they are offered it at a discount, but this must be repaid if they sell it on again within five years.

Ministers are considering whether this period should be extended to 10 years.

And in a bid to ensure a steady supply of social homes, Ms Rayner’s Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it was also considering whether there should be a target to replace homes on a “one-for-one” basis when they are sold.

Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Ms Rayner said: “For millions of people in the position I was once in, that first step into the secure social housing that changed my life has become a distant dream.

“Too many social homes have been sold off before they can be replaced, which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory.

“We cannot fix the crisis without addressing this issue – it’s like trying to fill a bath when the plug’s not in.

“A fairer Right to Buy will help councils protect and increase their housing stock, while also keeping the pathway to home ownership there for those who otherwise might not have the opportunity to get on the housing ladder.”

Labour are pulling up the drawbridge on home ownership and limiting aspiration and social mobility. It’s the height of hypocrisy for Angela Rayner to constrain the policy that helped her move onto and up the housing ladder

But the Tory front bench criticised the measures being considered by Ms Rayner.

Shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake said: “The Right to Buy has helped millions into home ownership. It has given something back to families who worked hard, paid their rent and played by the rules.

“It has allowed them to do up their home, change their front door, improve their garden – without getting permission from the town hall. It has given people a sense of pride and ownership not just in their home, but in their street and neighbourhood.

“Labour are now pulling up the drawbridge on home ownership and limiting aspiration and social mobility.

“It’s the height of hypocrisy for Angela Rayner to constrain the policy that helped her move onto and up the housing ladder.

“It’s classic socialism, one rule for them, another for everyone else.”