25 signatures reached
To: Government, MP's
Save Social Housing in England and Abolish the Right to Buy scheme
The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in which secure tenants have the legal right to purchase the council or housing association home they are living in for a substantially discounted price. The policy, which was first established in the Housing Act 1980, has led to a significant loss in the number of social houses available for those in need, and the large discounts have led to insufficient funds to restock these properties. In order to save England's social housing, and reduce the number of homeless people on our streets, England needs to follow the way of Scotland and Wales by abolishing the Right to Buy scheme.
Why is this important?
With over 320,000 homeless people in 2018, and currently facing its biggest housing shortfall on record, the UK has to make changes to Housing Policy. The number of households without permanent residence and in temporary accommodation is expected to reach 100,000 by 2020, which will only change through the delivery of more social and affordable housing. Following the actions of Welsh and Scottish government, abolishing the Right to Buy scheme will prevent the further loss of social housing onto the private market and will provide Local Authorities the opportunity to reduce housing waiting lists by re-homing vulnerable families. Between 1980-2018, 1,952,500 social properties have been sold by Local Authorities in the UK yet rebuilding rates are catastrophically lower, due to lack of funding. This, along with figures to show that some London LA's have repurchased previously sold properties for 6 times the price of the originally RTB sale, shows that the Right to Buy scheme needs to be abolished for the sake of the people.
