Right to Buy - our response

Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, says:

“Housing associations’ priority is to provide homes for the 4.2 million people currently in need of social housing in England - this includes 1 in every 5 children, many of whom are living in overcrowded conditions or homeless in B&Bs and other temporary accommodation.

“Right to Buy pilots have shown that there is not enough money from sales to build new social homes to replace those sold, meaning a net loss of social housing.

“We support measures to help people buy their own home and housing associations already build thousands of homes for shared ownership every year, helping people take their first steps onto the housing ladder. However, we are deeply concerned about the long term impact of Right to Buy and any loss of social housing will make the challenge of providing homes for those in need even harder.

“We will, of course, engage with the government and are keen to understand the detail about the proposed extension of Right to Buy to housing association homes.”