Right to Buy threatens community housing

Fifty-six of the 225 CLTs are under threat from the Voluntary Right to Buy, either because they are social housing providers or they have partnered with a housing association. They’re a diverse group – rural and urban, as far-flung as Tyneside and St Ives, and rooted in the specific needs of their local communities. But they share a commitment to addressing the shortage of affordable housing.

“Extending the Right to Buy would not only deplete the current supply of CLT homes but it would cut off the future supply.”

The Voluntary Right to Buy undermines CLTs’ core purpose to keep homes permanently affordable. Extending the Right to Buy would not only deplete the current supply of CLT homes but it would cut off the future supply, as landowners who have assisted CLTs in the past withdraw from the market and communities are no longer willing to provide support for homes that will not remain affordable.

CLTs need an unambiguous exclusion from the Voluntary Right to Buy. In 2015, we secured ‘discretion’ for CLTs. What that actually means is still unclear but the limited roll-out of the policy before the election provided some reassurance for the sector. However, the recent re-emergence of the Right to Buy as a mainstay of Conservative housing policy has reignited concerns. It’s therefore vital that the next government makes it clear that CLTs are not part of the Voluntary Right to Buy.

There’s never been a more important time for the government to champion community-led housing. Of course community-led housing isn’t going to solve the housing crisis alone, but it could make a much more significant contribution.

At its heart, the community-led housing movement is a dynamic, grassroots response to Britain’s broken housing market. With the community in control, they are able to mobilise local support for new development, whether in Tyneside or St Ives, and are able to overcome development constraints that defeat many other providers.

The five-year £300m Community Housing Fund, launched by the Department for Communities and Local Government in December, has the potential to transform the community-led housing sector in England. CLTs are already set to deliver 3,000 homes by 2020, but this programme, if designed in the right way, could treble that number. That’s why it’s so important that the next government commits to retaining the Community Housing Fund for the full five years, and works with the sector on its design and delivery.

Community-led housing is growing rapidly and stands ready to make a significant contribution. Now is the time to give it the recognition, support and certainty it needs.

Catherine Harrington, director, National Community Land Trust Network