Panorama investigates impact of right to buy

Millions of council houses were built after the war to help protect people from slum landlords. They used to be home to around a third of the UK population. Margaret Thatcher’s flagship right-to-buy policy boosted home ownership, but the council house sell-off is causing major problems 40 years on. Many former council properties are now in the hands of private landlords. In some parts of the country, rents are going through the roof, and slum landlords are back.

Reporter Richard Bilton has investigated what’s been happening, by telling the story of one housing estate in London.

CIH’s head of policy and external affairs Rachael Williamson was interviewed and shared analysis from the UK Housing Review, including:

• RTB contributed to the residualisation of social housing and accelerated the trend for council housing to increasingly house vulnerable and low-income households, often in less attractive urban estates.
• The most damaging aspect has been the failure to replace sold properties. Around 2.8 million social homes have been lost across the UK since its introduction (to April 22), many at huge discounts – effectively a large-scale privatisation. This placed huge pressure on council housing waiting lists.
• Housing investment was reduced and most capital receipts from homes sold were repaid as debt or went back to HM Treasury, with limited amounts reinvested locally. This money could arguably have been much better used, eg. in improving quality and energy efficiency.
• On resale, many RTB properties have ended up in the PRS - around 40%. This has added to the housing benefit bill which has risen from £11 billion in 2000 to £28bn in 2022 and is set to double again in the next 10 yrs. By contrast, RTB sales have raised £48.6bn across the life of the policy.
• RTB has had a ‘levelling down’ impact in smaller settlements and rural areas where council housing was critical in providing good quality, low-rent housing for lower-paid h/holds with local work & family connections. Without a supply of council lettings many newly forming households are unable to access housing locally or are limited to accommodation that fails to meet their needs.
• Evidence shows that the discounts received by some RTB purchasers in England far exceeds their o/a rent payments. Whilst positive for those who were able to use the scheme, many of those who purchased through RTB would have been able to afford to buy without a discount.

You can read more CIH analysis on the strategic failure of RTB here.

You can watch the Panorama episode in full on BBC iPlayer.