Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to make a speech today on housing policy, where he is expected to say that the Right to Buy will be extended to people on benefits – as the PM attempts to wrestle back the narrative from questions that linger over his premiership.
In what has been described as ‘benefits to bricks’ by one Tory minister, there are still question marks over how this policy would work, and how many people would be eligible around the UK. Mr Johnson is expected to deliver the news in a speech today to reemphasise his commitment to help more people get onto the property ladder.
It would be likely that some sort of pilot scheme may be launched at first, perhaps similar to the voluntary Right to Buy 2018 scheme which ran in the East and West Midlands in which the opportunity to purchase was extended to all housing association tenants.
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What are the current rules for Right to Buy housing in England?
To be eligible for the Right to Buy in England, the council home you’re living in must be your only or main home, it must be self-contained, you must be a secure or flexible tenant (meaning you’ve passed the introductory tenancy period), and you must have had a public sector landlord for at least three years (although this years do not have to be consecutive).
You can find out if you are eligible under the current rules by using the Own Your Home website and answering some basic questions.
What’s the new Right to Buy plan that Boris Johnson wants to introduce?
Right now, there are little concrete details, but the government's own estimates would suggest that the plan could allow an additional 224,000 council homes to be sold to tenants over the next decade. This is considerably smaller than the 2 million homes that were transferred from public to private ownership under Margaret Thatcher in the initial scheme, but question marks still remain over how many of these homes will be replaced as the demand for social housing remains high.
According to extracts released by No 10, during his speech on Thursday, Mr Johnson is set to say: “We have the tools we need to get on top of rising prices. The global headwinds are strong, but our engines are stronger.”
And add: “And, while it’s not going to be quick or easy, you can be confident that things will get better, that we will emerge from this a strong country with a healthy economy.”
