Scotland moots end of Right to Buy

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

Housing associations in Scotland have welcomed the Government's consideration to end the Right to Buy (RTB).

At the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations’ (SFHA’s) annual conference in Glasgow today, Housing Minister Keith Brown launched a consultation, ‘The Future of Right to Buy in Scotland’ which will seek views on options, including total abolition.

The SFHA has long campaigned for this policy to be curbed, or even ended, in order to preserve much-needed social housing at a time when there is ever-growing demand for it.

It says the affordable rented sector in Scotland has lost around half a million properties to Right to Buy sales since its introduction in 1980, while the complex nature of the rules, it adds, make it difficult for housing associations to administer and for tenants to understand.

It warned earlier this year that around 70,000 properties owned by housing associations will come into Right To Buy eligibility in September 2012. The vast majority of these properties, it said, do not lie in areas currently subject to "Pressured Area Status".

It warned that it was difficult to see much prospect of these properties being protected from RTB without Ministerial intervention.

Mary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said: “We are very pleased that the Minister has listened to the SFHA’s representations on Right to Buy and included within the consultation an option to end Right to Buy in Scotland once and for all.

“We agree with the objectives of further restrictions to the Right to Buy, but we are concerned that any variations will simply add another layer to an already incredibly complex set of rules and regulations. Many of the Right to Buy rules in Scotland are extremely awkward to follow for those administering the scheme, and hard to understand for tenants.

“There is clear agreement in our sector, that although beneficial to some individuals, the Right to Buy has no place in an affordable rented sector that is striving to meet the growing housing needs of Scotland’s population. The stark fact is that demand for rented accommodation is now far outstripping supply. We would urge all housing associations and co-operatives to support the option in the Scottish Government’s consultation document to end all forms of the Right to Buy in Scotland.”

In Scotland there are two forms of Right-to-Buy: the original form, introduced by the Thatcher government in 1980 – which offers extremely attractive discounts – and the ‘Modernised Right to Buy’ introduced in Scotland in 2001, which offers less attractive discounts.

Several areas of Scotland have recently successfully applied for pressured area status whereby the Right-to-Buy is suspended: these include Moray, parts of Stirling, North Lanarkshire and Aberdeenshire.

The Coalition Government has reinvigorated the scheme in England – originally launched by Margaret Thatcher in 1980 – and has quadrupled the discounts in some parts of the country.