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City bosses call for alternatives to Right to Buy and larger council homes
City council leaders have called on the government to implement “urgent reforms” to housing strategy, including Right to Buy (RTB) changes and on larger council homes for multigenerational households.
Key Cities and the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA), a network of councils representing some of the UK’s largest urban areas, have warned that “the financial situation for many of our councils is reaching breaking point”.
In a letter to prime minister Rishi Sunak, the leaders suggested policies that the government could have included in the King’s Speech earlier today, to support “collaborative relationships between councils and developers” in order to “overcome barriers presented by challenging existing building stock”.
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These included “alternatives to Right to Buy”, where council tenants would be allowed a cash subsidy equal to their RTB discount to be used on any property.
Rule changes around retaining RTB receipts should be made permanent, they said, while councils should be able to set the discount locally and reinvest it into expanding local housing stock.
In April, the government announced that councils would be able to keep 100% of funds from RTB sales for two years in an effort to boost housebuilding.
The leaders also urged the government to enable councils to build more council housing with larger homes that are suitable for multigenerational households.
Signed by John Merry, chair of Key Cities, and Sir Stephen Houghton, chair of SIGOMA, the letter also proposed policy changes in transport, clean energy and the local government finance system.
The prime minister’s office has been asked for a response to the letter. However, none of the housing-related measures asked of by SIGOMA made the King’s Speech earlier today.
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