RTB extension could see 145k association homes sold

The claim was made in the Chartered Institute of Housing’s (CIH) submission to the Communities and Local Government Committee inquiry into the viability and sustainability of housing associations.

“Our initial analysis of Right to Buy [RTB] is that about 1.45 million tenants will be eligible and about 10% will exercise the Right to Buy in the first five years,” said John Perry, CIH policy advisor.

“This is based on experience with local authority Right to Buy in the 1980s, taking into account that the proportion of housing association tenants in employment now is a lot lower than was the case with council tenants then.

“We expect most of these sales to be in years two and three.”

Previous analysis by the National Housing Federation, conducted before the general election, estimated more than 210,000 tenants would be eligible and able to afford to buy their housing association properties.

The CIH also warned 86,000 social rented homes will be converted to affordable rent over the next four years, based on data from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and Greater London Authority (GLA) affordable homes programmes.

The figure includes 75,000 expected conversions through the HCA programme and 11,000 under the GLA programme.

Mr Perry said: “While we understand the government’s desire to encourage people to become home owners, CIH is very concerned about doing this by using yet more social rented homes.

“New sales of housing association properties are in addition to Right to Buy sales by local authorities and conversions of homes to affordable rents.

“An alternative option for the new Right to Buy would be giving tenants portable discounts they could use in the open market, so that social rented stock could be kept and re-let to people on waiting lists.”