Housing association Phoenix Community Housing (PCH) in southeast London is tweeting every time a house is lost to Right-to-Buy, to highlight the number of homes being sold to the private sector.
Online publisher 24Dash.com reports that the government’s £100,000 discount for social housing tenants who buy their public sector homes is causing more homes to be sold.
Phoenix housing association says that as a result of the £100,000 Right-to-Buy discount, many of its properties are being sold for less than £50,000.
The housing provider has around 6,000 properties – and each new home costs around £150,000 to build. This can double if land to build new affordable homes on is bought on the open market.
PCH says the Right-to-Buy discount is making it impossible to fulfil the government’s pledge that for every public sector home sold to the private sector, another will be built to replace it, as a result of the small amounts housing associations make when a property is sold.
PCH says that out of any profit made from selling under Right-to-Buy, both the Treasury and local council – in this case Lewisham – also take a percentage.
The House of Lords is currently discussing reducing the amount of time a tenant has to occupy a social housing home before being eligible to buy under Right-to-Buy from five years to a minimum of three years.
Tower Hamlets Community Housing has also started tweeting every time a home is lost to Right-to-Buy.
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