Right To Buy Discount To Be Cut With Work Starting To End Scheme

Earlier this year, the Minister with responsibility for housing, Lesley Griffiths, published a White Paper setting out her intention to end the Right to Buy and halve the maximum discount available to people who want to buy their council house to £8,000.

The consultation revealed 76% of respondents – including Local Authorities, housing associations and social housing tenants – supported the reduction of the maximum sales discount and 63% were in favour of developing legislation to end the Right to Buy.

94% of respondents believed the Welsh Government should help people whose needs could not be met by the housing market, while three quarters of respondents felt action should be taken to protect Wales’ social housing stock.

After considering the responses to the consultation, the Minister is taking immediate action to reduce the discount this summer and has started the development of legislation to end Right to Buy, for consideration by the Government in the next Assembly term.

The Welsh Government says: “The Minister is taking this action to stop further reductions in Wales’ social housing stock, which has suffered from a 45% reduction in the number of properties available since the policy was first introduced in 1981.”

Lesley Griffiths said: “I am pleased key voices in the housing sector, including tenants, participated in the consultation and had their say on this important issue. The consultation on our proposals has brought to the fore some interesting views on Wales’ housing needs and demonstrated people’s support for protecting our social housing stock.

“The decisive action we are taking will go some way towards easing the pressure on our housing supply and protecting our social housing stock.

“This is in addition to our £400 million investment in affordable homes through our Social Housing Grant.”

The full list of consultation respondents are as follows:

30 Social Housing Tenants
8 Owner Occupiers
4 Members of Parents Organisation
12 Unspecified Individual Respondents
Anglesey County Council
Blaenau Gwent Council
Bryan Wilkes, Prison Service, National Offender Management Service
Cardiff Community Housing Association
Cartrefi Conwy
Charles Namurach, Housing Officer, Taff Housing Association
Charter Housing/Seren Group
Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru
City of Cardiff Council
Citizens Advice Cymru
Community Housing Cymru
Conwy County Borough Council
Evan Owen, Estate Agent
Flintshire County Council
Flintshire Tenants & Residents Association
Gwynedd County Council and Gwynedd Housing Partnership
Melin Housing Association
Merthyr Valleys Homes
Merthyr Tydfil Housing Association
Mid Wales Housing Association
Monmouthshire Housing Association
Neath Port-Talbot Homes
Newport City Homes
Newydd Housing Association
North Wales Housing
Pembrokeshire Housing Association
Peter Black AM
Residential Landlords Association
Shelter Cymru
Tai Ceredigion
Torfaen County Borough Council
Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council
Vale of Glamorgan Overarching Housing Forum
Wales Co-operative Centre
Wales & West Housing Association
Welsh Local Government Association
Welsh Tenants & TPAS Cymru
Wrexham County Borough Council