You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Welsh Assembly votes to abolish Right to Buy
Welsh Assembly members (AMs) have approved a bill to abolish the Right to Buy.
The Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Bill was passed yesterday evening with 35 votes in favour, 19 against and no abstentions.
The bill will now go forward for Royal Assent, with the ban coming into effect one year from that point for existing stock and after two months for new housing.
Last week, AMs rejected attempts by Conservative AMs to pass amendments which would have delayed the rules coming into effect.
READ MORE
“Ending the Right to Buy ensures that we safeguard the investment made in social housing over many generations for Welsh families now and in the future,” said Rebecca Evans, housing and regeneration minister for the Welsh Government, while introducing the final bill in the Senedd.
“I’d also like to say how pleased Carl Sargeant would have been to see the bill reach the final stage. He believed passionately in protecting our social housing stock for those who need it most, and he worked extremely hard to bring this legislation forward.”
Mr Sargeant, the former cabinet secretary for communities and children who died in an apparent suicide last month, first put forward the bill to abolish the Right to Buy in March.
Ms Evans added that the new legislation would “give local authorities and associations the confidence to invest in new developments to help meet the need for quality affordable housing in Wales”.
But David Melding, AM for South Wales Central and Welsh Conservatives housing spokesperson, said the Right to Buy had been “extremely successful across the UK and especially in Wales”.
He said housing market pressures were due to a lack of supply and not because of social housing sales.
Sian Gwenllian, Plaid Cymru AM for Arfon, said that although the party supported abolishing the Right to Buy, it was time for the Welsh Government to focus “clearly on the need to build more social housing”.
More than 139,000 homes have been sold under the Right to Buy in Wales since it was introduced in 1980.
