Right to Buy changes welcomed in Newcastle as nearly 9,000 still on council house waiting list

A North East council with thousands of people on its housing waiting list has welcomed plans for a major overhaul of Right to Buy rules.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced last week the Government is proposing a significant shakeup of the system, in an effort to tackle the nation’s housing crisis. Changes set out in a new consultation could mean the current three-year eligibility period after which tenants are able to apply to the Right to Buy scheme is extended, potentially to 10 years or more, to protect councils from losing more of their supply of properties.

Ministers are also considering a target to ensure council homes are replaced on a one-for-one basis in future when they are sold off, while it was also announced recently that the maximum discount available to social housing tenants seeking to buy their home would be cut. There have been major warnings this year about the scale of housing problems facing councils in the North East, with the region appearing to suffer far worse than anywhere else in England.

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Analysis released by charity Shelter this February showed how the number of households on a waiting list for social housing across the North East jumped by 51% from 2022 to 2023, up from 50,453 to 75,985, while the biggest rise elsewhere was just 8% in the North West. In Newcastle, local authority bosses say they currently have 8,769 active applications on their housing register, down from 9,591 at the end of September.

The council, which campaigned this summer for the Government to fix the country’s “completely broken” housing system, confirmed it had received 1,016 Right to Buy applications since July this year – most of those coming in the last month, ahead of the discount rules being changed. Labour councillor Paula Maines, the council's cabinet member for housing, said she was “delighted” by the reforms outlined by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) last week.

She added: “A fairer Right to Buy will help councils, like Newcastle, to protect their housing stock, while still continuing to give residents the opportunity to get onto the housing ladder. Hopefully, the suggested changes will mean that only those who should benefit from a Right to Buy discount will, which will help us to hold on to more of our stock and reduce our housing register numbers.

"We fully support and welcome the suggestion of a target for replacing any properties purchased with new stock, as again, this means more available homes for those in need on our housing register. People are at the heart of everything we do and as a council we want our residents to receive the best possible services.

"For years, we have faced major financial and regulatory changes in the housing sector that mean we need to get more from every pound we spend. The proposed changes are a step in the right direction to help us to meet the needs of our residents.”

The MHCLG consultation has also proposed extending the period in which local authorities can request buyers repay the value of the discount recieved for purchasing their former council home, if it is later sold.

Ms Rayner said: “For millions of people in the position I was once in, that first step into the secure social housing that changed my life has become a distant dream. Too many social homes have been sold off before they can be replaced, which has directly contributed to the worst housing crisis in living memory.

“We cannot fix the crisis without addressing this issue – it’s like trying to fill a bath when the plug’s not in. A fairer Right to Buy will help councils protect and increase their housing stock, while also keeping the pathway to home ownership there for those who otherwise might not have the opportunity to get on the housing ladder.”