The Right to Buy overhaul has arrived with the solemnity of a housing policy announcement and the paperwork of a minor extradition. The Government has confirmed further reforms that would make eligible council tenants in England wait ten years before applying to buy their home, rather than three. The model house has taken this personally, mainly because it had already put the kettle on and invited the estate agent round.
The stated aim is to protect and rebuild social housing while preserving what the Government calls a responsible route into homeownership for longstanding tenants. This is the familiar Westminster trick of keeping the door open while extending the corridor, adding a turnstile and asking the visitor to prove that the corridor is still technically accessible.
The proposed discount system would begin at 5% of the property value, rise by 1% each year and stop at 15% or the relevant cash cap, whichever is lower. New social homes would receive a 35 year exemption from Right to Buy. The model house has welcomed the breathing space and is now wondering whether its spare room can be listed as a protected strategic asset.
These are proposals, not a completed renovation. The Government says the changes will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows, which is the constitutional equivalent of telling a delivery driver that someone should be in after lunch, provided the lunch is approved, minuted and available in an unspecified parliamentary sitting.
Other measures already described include lower maximum cash discounts, the ability for councils to retain all sales receipts for replacement homes and an extension of cost floor protection from 15 to 30 years. The policy is also being developed around fraud prevention and the effect of Right to Buy in rural areas. The scheme now has so many safeguards that the model house has applied for planning permission to leave the filing cabinet.
The contradiction is not that the Government wants people to own homes. Nor is it that councils need more social housing. It is that the same scheme must present itself as a ladder into ownership while making sure the ladder is stored securely, issued after ten years and returned immediately if anyone appears too persuasive.
The model house has reached a sensible interim conclusion. It remains available for inspection, subject to eligibility, discount rules, a cash cap, a cost floor, Parliamentary time and proof that the viewing appointment was not arranged by a suspiciously persuasive stranger. It has also stopped answering the door to anyone carrying a consultation response. The house is not refusing homeownership. It is simply waiting for the Government to finish checking whether the key is eligible to turn.
Source: GOV.UK.
