Right to Buy: Housing Associations

Lord Shipley Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, councils should effectively and efficiently use their resources. Where there is an increased need for housing across the country, it makes no sense for a local authority to keep high-value, vacant council houses when it could sell them to fund the building of new homes that will reflect its local housing need and increase overall housing supply. We want to work with both local authorities and local associations to ensure this one-for-one additional housing.

[Lord Shipley (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for her Answer. I am still unclear whether there is to be a requirement on local authorities to sell off their best housing to help pay for this policy. Will sheltered housing, which is protected under the right to buy for local authority sales, be treated similarly in the context of housing association right to buy? What is the Government’s target for net new homes for rent as a consequence of this policy?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, as I just said, where there is a need for housing across the country, it makes no sense at all for local authorities to keep hold of their high-value, vacant council houses. Selling such properties will mean more money to fund the building of new homes. That will better meet their local needs and some of the money will go to support housing association tenants to buy their own property. This is part of our wider effort to help anyone who works hard and wants to get on the property ladder to achieve their dream. We are legislating to require local housing authorities, as the noble Lord said, to pay the Secretary of State a sum in line with the anticipated receipt from the sale of high-value council housing, and councils will be able to retain some of the sale funds to support new housebuilding locally to increase the overall housing numbers in their area. We will announce more detail in due course, obviously through the housing Bill. In terms of our aspiration on affordable housing, our aim is to deliver—

[Lord Shipley]

It was sheltered housing.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I am sorry. On sheltered housing, all the exemptions that apply currently will continue to do so.