THE DISPATCH
HOUSING
Boris Johnson made loud plans for Right to Buy expansion. But it’s the same old story: homes sold off and not replaced
What will be Boris Johnson’s lasting legacy as PM? It is a matter of debate right now. New figures released during his final days in office show that selling but not replacing social housing stock, taking homes further from those most in need, could be an unwelcome part of that legacy.
Johnson said earlier this year that he wanted to expand the Right to Buy scheme to current housing association tenants to allow them to buy some of England’s 4.4 million social homes, as well as tweaking rules to allow people receiving benefits to direct housing benefits toward a mortgage.
The uncosted plans, which Johnson said will give 2.5 million households the chance to become homeowners, sparked concern from MPs and housing charities who warned of the “further erosion of social housing stock”.
And with good reason. New government figures release last week showed fewer than half of the homes sold through the scheme in England between April 2021 and March 2022 had been replaced. Local authorities reported 10,878 eligible sales over the period, generating just over £1bn. But that translated into only 5,089 replacements funded through receipts.
It’s become a familiar tale since Margaret Thatcher launched the Right to Buy scheme in 1980, with fewer than five per cent of the two million council homes sold off replaced with new or like-for-like social housing.
Fewer than 6,000 social rent homes were built in England in 2020/21 – according
